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Netherlands American Cemetery and 

Memorial

American Battle Monuments Commission
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LOCATION

The Netherlands Cemetery, the only 

American military cemetery in the 

Netherlands, is located near the southeast 

limit of the country in the village of 

Margraten, 6 miles (10 km) east of 

Maastricht, on the main highway to 

Aachen, Germany, which is 14 miles (22 

km) farther east. Margraten is 70 miles 

(112 km) east of Brussels and 252 miles 

(405 km) northeast of Paris.

Maastricht may be reached by train from Brussels, from Paris (Gare du Nord – in 

approximately 7 hours), any city in Holland, or from Germany via Aachen. A bus service 

from Maastricht railroad station passes the cemetery entrance.

To reach Margraten by automobile from the north, west or south, follow the 

appropriate highway to Maastricht, then east along the Cadier en Keer/Vaals highway 

(N278). If driving from Aachen, follow the Maastricht highway (N278) west for 11 

miles (18 km) after passing the Netherlands border.

There are good hotels at Maastricht, Valkenburg, 4.5 miles (7 km), Aachen and at 

other towns in the vicinity.

HOURS

The cemetery is open daily to the public from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm except December 25 

and January 1. It is open on host country holidays. When the cemetery is open to the 

public, a staff member is on duty in the Visitors’ Building to answer questions and escort 

relatives to grave and memorial sites.

HISTORY

Three months after the successfully landings on the beaches of Normandy, Allied forces 

had advanced farther than they had thought possible. By mid-September 1944, the U.S. 

First Army had crossed Luxembourg; captured Liege, Belgium; reached the German 

frontier near Aachen; and entered the Netherlands near Maastricht. The U.S. Third Army 

sweeping across France on the right had reached the Moselle River and made contact 

with the U.S. Seventh Army driving northward from southern France. The British 

Second Army on the left had liberated Brussels and Antwerp, as the Canadian First Army 

kept pace with it along the coast liberating Ostend and Bruges. Both Armies then found 

themselves astride the Netherlands frontier.
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At this point, enemy defenses began to stabilize around the Siegfried Line, with the 

heavily fortified cities in front of that line to the west, and the more easily defensible 

natural barriers provided by the numerous rivers and canals in the Netherlands to the east.

In an attempt to outflank the north end of the Siegfried Line, the Allies launched a 

combined airborne-ground assault along a narrow corridor across three major rivers (the 

Meuse, the Rhine and the Neder Rijin) and several canals, the success of which among 

other things depended heavily upon surprise. At 1400 hours on 17 September 1944, 

elements of three divisions of the Allied First Airborne Army were landed by parachute 

and glider in column along the main road from Eindhoven to Nijmegen to Arnhem, a 

distance of 64 miles from the starting point of the supporting British 30 Corps. Almost 

immediately, 30 Corps, consisting of one Armored and two Infantry Divisions, 

encountered stronger resistance than was anticipated. Therefore, its progress was much 

slower than planned.

Aided by air cover from the U.S. Eighth and Ninth Air Forces and the Royal Air 

Force, the landings on the drop zones were extraordinarily successful. In the Eindhoven 

area, the U.S. 101st Airborne Division captured all bridges except one that was destroyed 

by the enemy. Contrary to plans, the supporting ground column did not reach Eindhoven 

until the second day and it was early on the third day before the destroyed bridge was 

replaced.
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South of Nijimegen, the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division quickly seized the bridge 

over the Maas (Meuse) River. It was not until the 4th day (20 September), however, that 

the bridge over the Waal (Rhine) River was captured and not until the 5th day that all 

defenders were cleared from the area and ground troops were able to cross. The most 

important bridge of all over the Neder Rijin (lower Rhine) was still ten miles away.

Enemy reaction at Arnhem was swift and telling, as it quickly separated the 

battalion of the British 1st Airborne Division that had seized the north end of the Arnhem 

bridge from the remainder of the division and encircled the drop zones west of the city. 

Harsh weather further complicated the problem by preventing the cutoff battalion from 

being supported from the air. On the 5th day, a Polish Parachute Brigade made a valiant 

but unsuccessful attempt to reinforce it. Even when ground troops arrived on 23 

September (the 7th day), all attempts to send reinforcements north of the river failed. 

After dark on 25 September, the battalion’s remnants, less then one-quarter of those who 

had landed, were evacuated to the south bank.

Allied progress during the next three months was slow as opposition stiffened in all 

areas. The British Second Army concentrated on widening the sides of the Nijmegen 

corridor, while the Canadian First Army performed the difficult task of opening the 

Schelde estuary, so that the port of Antwerp could begin to operated on 28 November and 

ease the logistical burden. The main Allied offensive effort during this period was 

shifted to the center of the enemy defenses. There, the U.S. First Army with strong air 

support from the U.S. Ninth Air Force, broke through the Siegfried Line and encircled 

Aachen which surrendered on 21 October. The U.S. Ninth Army, which had been 

organized at Brest in Brittany, was shifted from the U.S. First Army’s right flank to its 
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left. Together, the two Armies continued the assault to the Roer River. On its right, the 

U.S. Third Army and the U.S. Seventh Army, with the French First Army on the extreme 

right, made substantial gains toward the German frontier.

Suddenly on 16 December 1944, the Allied advance was interrupted as the enemy 

launched its final major counteroffensive of the war in the Ardennes, followed by a 

second assault in Alsace to the south. By the end of January 1945, these offensives were 

halted and all ground retaken. The Allies then resumed their advance, which was planned 

in two stages. The first stage was to clear all enemy units west of the Rhine; the second 

was to invade Germany itself.

The advance to the Rhine in the north was scheduled to begin on 8 February 1945, 

with the Canadian First Army attacking to the southeast, followed in two days by a 

converging attack to the northeast by the U.S. Ninth and First Armies. When the V 

Corps of the First Army seized control of the upstream dams of the Roer on 10 February, 

it discovered that the enemy had destroyed the discharge valves the evening before. The 

resultant heavy flow of water halted the attack there for two weeks.

At 0245 hours on 23 February, following a short but intensive air and artillery 

bombardment, the U.S. Ninth Army lowered its assault boats into the swirling waters and 

began to cross the Roer River before the flood waters had completely subsided. Despite 

heavy enemy artillery fire, Julich was captured on the first day, with the support of 

fighters and medium bombers of the U.S. Ninth Air Force.
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By 25 February, all four corps of the U.S. Ninth Army had crossed the Roer and 

were advancing. As the advance turned northward, the armored units were committed. 

By 1 March 1945, the industrial city of Monchen-Gladbach had been captured. It was the 

largest German city taken to date. Now the advance became a race to destroy as many 

units as possible before they could retreat across the Rhine. Despite constant harassment 

by our aircraft, the enemy was able to demolish all bridges across the Rhine. On 10 

March, the entire west bank of the Rhine from Dusseldorf northward was in Allied hands.

The major assault crossing of the Rhine occurred on 23-24 March, when the U.S. 

Ninth Army crossed at Rheinberg, a city it had captured on 6 March. Advancing Allied 

armies by-passed the northern Netherlands, encircled the Ruhr, then pursued the 

retreating enemy throughout Germany and Austria. All enemy forces in Europe 

surrendered on 8 May 1945. 

SITE

The cemetery occupies 65 1⁄2 acres of gently rolling farmland just south of the highway. 

The site was liberated on 13 September 1944 by troops of the U.S. 30th Infantry Division 

which were advancing northeastward toward the Roer in Germany, as part of the U.S. 

First Army. A battlefield cemetery, one of the first to be used for the interment of 

American soldiers who fell on German soil, was established here on 10 November 1944 

by the U.S. Ninth Army.

Here rest 8,302 of our military Dead, representing 43 percent of those who were 

originally buried in this and in other temporary cemeteries in this region. Most of them 

gave their lives in the airborne and ground operations to liberate eastern Holland, during 

the advances into Germany over the Roer and across the Rhine and in air operations over 

these regions.

ARCHITECTS

Architects for the cemetery and memorial were Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson and 

Abbott, of Boston, Massachusetts. The landscape architects were Clark, Rapuano and 

Halleran of New York City.

GENERAL LAYOUT

From the entrance gate on the south side of the Maastricht-Aachen highway the approach 

drive leads to the right, around a grassed oval, to the steps leading to the Court of Honor. 

Immediately north and south of these steps are the parking areas. Farther to the south is 

the service area.
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The Court of Honor of the memorial leads to the tower containing the chapel. 

Beyond the chapel is the burial area. The cemetery and memorial were completed in 

1960.

THE MEMORIAL

Flanking the entrance to the Court of Honor on the south side is the Visitors’ Building. 

On the north side is the museum room.

On the exterior wall of the museum is this inscription taken from General Dwight 

D. Eisenhower’s dedication of the Golden Book in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London:

HERE WE AND ALL WHO SHALL HEREAFTER LIVE IN FREEDOM

WILL BE REMINDED THAT TO THESE MEN AND THEIR COMRADES

WE OWE A DEBT TO BE PAID WITH GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE

OF THEIR SACRIFICE AND WITH THE HIGH RESOLVE

THAT THE CAUSE FOR WHICH THEY DIED SHALL LIVE.

Engraved on the Roman Travertine walls within the museum are three maps 

embellished with mosaic and bronze and enamel appliques. The large map on the north 

wall records the progress of the military operations from the landings in Normandy until 

the end of the war. Mention is also made of the strategic air attacks which started in 

1942. Accompanying the map is a descriptive text in English and Dutch of which this is 

the English version:

ON 6 JUNE 1944, PRECEDED BY AIRBORNE UNITS AND COVERED BY NAVAL 

AND AIR BOMBARDMENT, UNITED STATES AND BRITISH COMMOWEALTH 

FORCES LANDED ON THE COAST OF NORMANDY. PUSHING SOUTHWARD 
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THEY ESTABLISHED A BEACHHEAD SOME 20 MILES IN DEPTH. ON 25 JULY, 

IN THE WAKE OF A PARALYZING AIR BOMBARDMENT BY THE U.S. EIGHTH 

AND NINTH AIR FORCES AND THE ROYAL AIR FORCE. THE U.S. FIRST 

ARMY BROKE OUT OF THE BEACHHEAD WEST OF ST. LO. ON 1 AUGUST IT 

WAS JOINED BY THE U.S. THIRD ARMY. TOGETHER THEY REPULSED A 

POWERFUL COUNTERATTACK TOWARD AVRANCHES. CRUSHED BETWEEN 

THE AMERICANS ON THE SOUTH AND WEST AND THE BRITISH ON THE 

NORTH, AND ATTACKED CONTINUOUSLY BY THE ALLIED AIR FORCES, THE 

ENEMY RETREATED ACROSS THE SEINE.

SUSTAINED BY THE HERCULEAN ACHIEVEMENTS OF ARMY AND 

NAVY SUPPLY PERSONNEL, THE ALLIED ARMIES AND AIR FORCES 

PURSUED VIGOROUSLY. BY MID-SEPTEMBER THE U.S. NINTH ARMY HAD 

LIBERATED BREST; THE FIRST ARMY HAD SWEPT THROUGH FRANCE, 

BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG AND WAS STANDING ON THE THRESHOLD 

OF GERMANY; THE THIRD ARMY HAD REACHED THE MOSELLE AND HAD 

JOINED FORCES WITH THE U.S. SEVENTH AND THE FRENCH FIRST ARMIES 

ADVANCING NORTHWARD FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN. ON THE LEFT 

FLANK, BRITISH AND CANADIAN TROOPS HAD ENTERED THE 

NETHERLANDS. ON 17 SEPTEMBER THREE AIRBORNE DIVISIONS DROPPED 

IN THE EINDHOVEN-ARNHEM AREA IN A BOLD BUT UNSUCCESSFUL 

ATTEMPT TO OUTFLANK THE FORTIFIED SIEGFRIED LINE.
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PROGRESS DURING THE NEXT THREE MONTHS WAS SLOW, THE 

FIGHTING BITTER AS OPPOSITION STIFFENED. THE OPENING OF THE PORT 

OF ANTWERP ON 28 NOVEMBER MATERIALLY EASED THE LOGISTICAL 

BURDEN. IN THE CENTER THE FIRST AND NINTH ARMIES SEIZED AACHEN 

AND FOUGHT THEIR WAY TO THE ROER. METZ FELL AS THE THIRD ARMY 

PUSHED TO THE SAAR. ON ITS RIGHT, THE SEVENTH ARMY AIDED BY THE 

FIRST TACTICAL AIR FORCE DROVE TO THE RHINE AT STRASBOURG,

WHILE FRENCH TROOPS FREED MULHOUSE.

IN THE ARDENNES, ON 16 DECEMBER, THE ENEMY LAUNCHED HIS 

FINAL MAJOR COUNTEROFFENSIVE. PROMPT TACTICAL COUNTERMEASURES AND THE SUPERB FIGHTING QUALITIES OF AMERICAN 

SOLDIERS AND AIRMEN FINALLY HALTED THIS DRIVE. DURING 

FEBRUARY AND MARCH THE WEST BANK OF THE RHINE WAS CLEARED IN 

A SERIES OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL OPERATIONS. IN RAPID SUCCESSION, 

AMERICAN FORCES SEIZED A BRIDGE AT REMAGEN, CROSSED THE RHINE 

AT OPPENHEIM, THEN ON 23-24 MARCH STAGED WITH THE BRITISH THEIR 

MAJOR ASSAULT CROSSING NEAR WESEL. PUSHING RAPIDLY EASTWARD 

OUR ARMIES ENCIRCLED THE ENTIRE RUHR VALLEY IN A GIGANTIC 

DOUBLE EVELOPMENT. WITH THE AIR AND GROUND FORCES OPERATING 

AS A TEAM, THE ALLIES SWEPT ACROSS GERMANY TO MEET THE 
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ADVANCING TROOPS OF THE USSR AND FORCE THE COMPLETE 

SURRENDER OF THE ENEMY ON 8 MAY 1945, 337 DAYS AFTER THEIR 

INITIAL LANDINGS IN FRANCE.

On the west wall the map portrays the daring large-scale airborne operation which 

was intended to outflank the fortified Siegfried Line and seize the crossings of the Lower 

Rhine. It, too, is accompanied by an inscription in both languages of which this is the 

English version:

IN EARLY SEPTEMBER 1944, THE ALLIED FORCES WERE MOVING 

NORTHEASTWARD IN A SWEEPING ADVANCE. PROGRESS THROUGH 

FRANCE AND BELGIUM WAS RAPID, BUT AS OUR TROOPS APPROACHED 

THE GERMAN FRONTIER THE OPPOSITION STIFFENED. TO OUTFLANK THE 

SIEGFRIED LINE AND THUS TO OBTAIN IMMEDIATELY A BRIDGEHEAD 

OVER THE RHINE, THE ALLIES LAUNCHED A STRONG AIRBORNE AND 

GROUND ASSAULT IN THE EASTERN NETHERLANDS.

ON 17 SEPTEMBER 1944 ELEMENTS OF THE U.S. 101ST AND 82ND 

AIRBORNE DIVISIONS AND THE BRITISH 1 AIRBORNE DIVISION DROPPED 

IN COLUMN ALONG THE MAIN ROAD FROM ENDHOVEN TO ARNHEM. 

THEIR MISSION WAS TO CAPTURE THE BRIDGES OVER THE MAJOR CANALS 

AND OVER THE MAAS, THE WAAL AND THE NEDER RIJN, THUS 

ESTABLISHING A CORRIDOR THROUGH WHICH THE BRITISH 30 CORPS 

WOULD ADVANCE RAPIDLY AND ESTABLISH ITSELF NORTH OF THE 
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NEDER RIJN. ON THAT DAY MORE THAN 1,500 TROOP CARRYING 

AIRCRAFT AND 478 GLIDERS OF THE U.S. IX TROOP CARRIER COMMAND 

AND THE ROYAL AIR FORCE, PROTECTED BY 2,200 COMBAT AIRPLANES OF 

THE U.S. EIGHTH AND NINTH AIR FORCES AND THE ROYAL FORCE, 

CARRIED APPROXIMATELY 50% OF THE STRENGTH OF THE THREE 

AIRBORNE DIVISIONS. INTENSIVE AIR BOMBARDMENT OF ANTI AIRCRAFT 

GUN POSITIONS AND AIRFIELDS, AND THE ACHIEVEMENT OF SURPRISE 

CONTRIBUTED TO THE SUCCESS OF THE INITIAL OPERATIONS.

IMMEDIATELY AFTER LANDING, THE 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION 

SECURED THE BRIDGES IN ITS AREA EXCEPT THAT AT SON WHICH THE 

ENEMY DESTROYED. THE 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION CAPTURED INTACT 

THE BRIDGE ACROSS THE MAAS AT GRAVE BUT FOUND NIJMEGEN TOO 

STRONGLY HELD. A BATTALION OF THE BRITISH 1ST AIRBORNE DIVISION 

REACHED ARNHEM AND SEIZED THE NORTHERN EDGE OF THE HIGHWAY 

BRIDGE ACROSS THE NEDER RIJN, BUT OVERPOWERING ENEMY FORCES 

HELD THE REMAINDER OF THE DIVISION WITHIN A SMALL PERIMETER 

WEST OF THE CITY. ON SUCCEEDING DAYS, BAD WEATHER DELAYED 

AIRBORNE REINFORCEMENTS AND SUPPLIES AND THUS PREVENTED 

EFFECTIVE AIR ASSISTANCE TO THE FORCES FIGHTING TO ESTABLISH AND 

MAINTAIN THE CORRIDOR.

MENWHILE THE ADVANCING 30 CORPS PASSED THROUGH THE 101ST 

AIRBORNE DIVISION WHICH HAD CAPTURED EINDHOVEN. IT THEN JOINED 

THE 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION IN ITS ATTACK ON THE NIJMEGEN BRIDGES, 
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BOTH OF WHICH WERE FINALLY SEIZED INTACT ON THE EVENING OF 20 

SEPTEMBER BY THE 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION IN COOPERATION WITH 

BRITISH ARMORED UNITS; BUT BRITISH INFANTRY COULD NOT REACH 

THE SOUTH BANK OF THE NEDER RIJN IN FORCE UNTIL 24 SEPTEMBER. 

THE ENEMY PREVENTED ALL ATTEMPTS TO REINFORCE THE TROOPS 

BEYOND THE RIVER, AND AFTER 

DARK ON 25 SEPTEMBER THE 

REMNANTS OF THE DECIMATED 

1ST AIRBORNE DIVISION WERE 

EVACUATED.

On the east wall the map records the 

operations in the crossing of the Roer and 

the advance to the Rhine; this is the 

English version of its inscription:

UPON THE VICTORIOUS 

CONCLUSION OF THE ARDENNES 

CAMPAIGN ON 25 JANUARY 1945 

THE ALLIES UNDERTOOK THE TASK 

OF DESTROYING THE ENEMY 

ARMIES WEST OF THE RHINE. THE 

FIRST ATTACK WAS TO BE MADE 

ON THE NORTHERN FLANK BY THE 

CANADIAN FIRST ARMY AND THE 

U.S. NINTH ARMY; THE U.S. FIRST 

ARMY WAS TO ADVANCE ON THEIR 

RIGHT. THE CANADIANS OPENED 

THE OFFENSIVE ON 8 FEBRUARY 

BUT ON THE NEXT DAY THE ENEMY 

FLOODED THE ROER VALLEY BY 

RELEASING THE WATER FROM AN 

UPSTREAM DAM. THIS CREATED 

AN IMPASSABLE OBSTACLE 

BEFORE THE NINTH ARMY, WHICH THEN POSTPONED ITS ASSAULT FOR 

NEARLY TWO WEEKS. DURING THE RESULTING DELAY THE U.S. EIGHTH 

AND NINTH AIR FORCES CONTINUOUSLY ATTACKED BRIDGES, RAILROAD 

TRACKS AND MARSHALLING YARDS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE RHINE TO 

ISOLATE THE BATTEFIELD. REACHING A CLIMAX ON 22 FEBRUARY, THE 

BOMBARDMENT SYSTEMATICALLY DISRUPTED THE ENEMY 

COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS THROUGH-OUT 

GERMANY.

IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF 23 FEBRUARY, FOLLOWING AN 

INTENSIVE ARTILLERY PREPARATION, THE LEADING UNITS OF THE NINTH 

ARMY LOWERED THEIR ASSAULT BOATS INTO THE SWIRLING WATERS OF 
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THE STILL FLOODED ROER. THE SWIFT CURRENT AND ENEMY ARTILLERY 

FIRE ON THE CROSSING SITES MADE PASSAGE OF THE RIVER MOST 

HAZARDOUS, BUT THE XIX CORPS ADVANCED AND CAPTURED JULICH ON

THE FIRST DAY WHILE THE XIII CORPS MADE SUBSTANTIAL GAINS IN THE 

LINNICH AREA. FIGHTERS AND MEDIUM BOMBERS OF THE NINTH AIR 

FORCE CLOSELY SUPPORTED THE FORWARD UNITS, DESTROYING ENEMY 

TANKS AND EQUIPMENT; THE BRIDGEHEADS ON THE EAST BANK WERE 

MADE SECURE BY THE END OF THE SECOND DAY.

ONCE ACROSS THE RIVER, THE U.S. NINTH ARMY OFFENSIVE 

RAPIDLY GATHERED MOMENTUM. ON 25 FEBRUARY THE XVI CORPS 

CROSSED ON THE LEFT FLANK. ARMORED UNITS WERE COMMITTED AS 

THE DIRECTION OF ADVANCE TURNED NORTHWARD AND BROKE 

THROUGH THE ENEMY LINES BY 1 MARCH THE INDUSTRIAL CENTER OF 

MONCHEN-GLADBACH HAD BEEN CLEARED, THE LARGEST GERMANY 

CITY YET CAPTURED BY ALLIED FORCES.

THE BATTLE BECAME A PURSUIT. THE OBJECTIVE NOW WAS TO 

PREVENT AS MANY ENEMY AS POSSIBLE FROM ESCAPING. THE SIX CORPS 

REACHED THE RHINE NEAR NEUSS ON 2 MARCH WHILE THE XIII CORPS 

ENTERED KREFELD; EARLY THE NEXT DAY THE CORPS MADE CONTACT 

WITH THE CANADIAN FIRST ARMY AT GELDERN. CONSTANTLY 

HARASSED BY THE FIGHTER-BOMBERS OF THE NINTH AIR FORCE, THE 

ENEMY WITHDREW, DEMOLISHING THE BRIDGES AS HE RETREATED 

ACROSS THE RIVER. BY 6 MARCH RHEINBERG, THE FUTURE CROSSING 

SITE FOR THE NINTH ARMY, HAD BEEN TAKEN FOUR DAYS LATER THE 

WEST BANK OF THE RHINE FROM DUSSELDORF NORTHWARD WAS IN 

ALLIED HANDS.

Below the maps are insignia of the principal major units which participated in these 

operations. These maps were designed by Lewis York of New Haven, Conn., from data 

prepared by the American Battle Monuments Commission, and were executed by the 

Dura Company of Heerlen, Holland. The enamel bronze appliques were fabricated by 

the Morris Singer Company of London.

On the esterior east wall of the museum are mounted the two series of key maps 

“The War Against Germany” and “The War Against Japan.”

COURT OF HONOR

Extending from the steps to the tower is the Court of Honor with its reflecting pool. 

Engraved on the north and south walls of the Court are the names, rank, organization and 

the State of 1,723 of our Missing of the Army and Army Air Forces. * These men gave 

their lives in the service of their Country in this region, but their remains have not been 

recovered or identified. Their names include men from every State of the Union (except 

Alaska) and the District of Columbia.

Over these names in the north wall, with a Dutch translation in the south wall, is 

carved:
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HERE ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF

AMERICANS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES

IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY AND

WHO SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES

Toward the east ends of the walls are these inscriptions also:

NORTH WALL:

TO YOU FROM FAILING HANDS WE THROW THE TORCH –

BE YOURS TO HOLD IT HIGH

(from John McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields”).

SOUTH WALL:

HONOR IS THEIRS WHO KNEW

THE PATH OF HONOR.

Without confirmed information to the contrary, a War Department Administrative 

Review Board established the official date of death of those commemorated on the 

Tablets to the Missing as one year and a day from the date on which the individual was 

placed in Missing in action status.

The trees planted in lawns before the Walls of the Missing are Japanese Cherries 

(Prunus serrulata Sekiyama).
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THE TOWER AND CHAPEL

The bronze group standing before the tower at the East End of the Court of Honor was 

designed by Joseph Kiselewski, of New York City and cast in Milan by the Battaglia 

foundries. The mourning figure, the doves, the new shoot from the war destroyed tree are 

appositely described by the inscription on the stone base:

NEW LIFE FROM WAR’S DESTRUCTION PROCLAIMS

MAN’S IMMORTALITY AND HOPE FOR PEACE

The west face of the tower bears this inscription from a free translation of Pericles’ 

oration as recorded by Thucydides:

EACH FOR HIS OWN MEMORIAL

EARNED PRAISE THAT WILL NEVER DIE

AND WITH IT

THE GRANDEST OF ALL SEPULCHRES

NOT THAT IN WHICH

HIS MORTAL BONES ARE LAID

BUT A HOME

IN THE MINDS OF MEN

The tower rises 101 ft. above the Court of Honor. Its exterior walls, like those of 

the Court of Honor and the entrance pavilions, are built of English Portland stone. On the 
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walls flanking it to the left and right are the names of significant battles fought by the 

soldiers and airmen commemorated:

MAASTRICHT * EINDHOVEN * GRAVE * NIJMEGEN * ARNHEM * JULICH * 

LINNICH * GEILENKIRCHEN * KREFELD * VENLO * RHEINBERG * COLOGNE 

* WESEL * RUHR

On the north side of the tower is the observation platform which affords a wide 

panorama view of the graves area and surrounding countryside.

The entrance to the chapel, reached after mounting a few steps, is on the east, the 

burial area side, of the tower. The doors are of bronze fabricated by H. H. Martyn of 

Cheltenham, England and bear in outline a Tree of Life. Above them is engraved:

IN MEMORY OF THE VALOR AND THE SACRIFICES

WHICH HALLOW THIS SOIL

The interior of the chapel is 52 feet high. Suspended from the ceiling is the 

handsome lighting fixture presented by the Dutch people and consisting of a royal crown 

surrounded by tiny lights recalling the firmament above.

A silver altar vase and wrought iron candelabrum were also gifts of the Dutch 

people. The vase bears the inscription:

PRO MUNDI LIBERTATE MORTUIS
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(To those who died for a free world)

The altar, itself of oak, bears the inscription:

HONOR * FAITH * VALOR

Mounted on the south wall of the chapel are three U.S. National flags, a Christian 

Chapel flag and a Jewish Chapel flag.

Following are the inscriptions in the interior of the memorial:

EAST WALL:

1941-1945

*

IN PROUD REMEMBRANCE OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF HER SONS

AND IN HUMBLE TRIBUTE TO THEIR SACRIFICES

THIS MEMORIAL HAS BEEN ERECTED BY

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

NORTH WALL:

O GOD WHO ART THE AUTHOR OF PEACE AND LOVER OF CONCORD
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DEFEND US THY HUMBLE SERVANT IN ALL ASSAULTS OF OUR ENEMIES 

THAT WE SURELY TRUSTING IN THY DEFENSE

MAY NOT FEAR THE POWER OF ANY ADVERSARIES

(Peace Prayer from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer.)

SOUTH WALL:

O LORD SUPPORT US ALL THE DAY LONG

UNTIL THE SHADOWS LENGTHEN AND THE EVENING COMES

AND THE FEVER OF LIFE IS OVER AND OUR WORK IS DONE

THEN IN THY MERCY GRANT US A SAFE LODGING, A HOLY REST

AND PEACE AT THE LAST

(From the “Works of Cardinal Newman.”)

Atop the Tower is a carillon which was presented to the Netherlands American 

Cemetery and Memorial by the American Veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam 

(AMVETS) in conjunction with the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation and 

dedicated as a memorial to those U.S. War Dead who made the supreme sacrifice in the 

cause of freedom.

GRAVES AREA

The burial area is divided into 16 plots, lettered from A to P, separated by the broad 

central mall and by grass paths. The 8,301 headstones are arranged in parallel arcs 

sweeping across the broad green lawn.

Of the 8,308 Dead who gave their lives in their Country’s service, from every State 

in the Union, The District of Columbia, England, Canada and Mexico, 106 are 

Unknowns. In no less than 40 instances two brothers lie buried side by side, while one 

headstone marks the common grave of two Unknowns.

At the top of the hill, on the axis of the mall, is the flagstaff.

VISITORS’ BUILDING

The Visitors’ Building is located on the south side of the Court of Honor. Within it is a 

comfortably furnished lounge where visitors may obtain burial locations or other 

information from the cemetery staff or simply pause to relax and refresh themselves.

PLANTINGS

Characteristically American tulip poplars (Liriodendrom Tulipifera) line the central mall. 

Prominent are beds of rhododendron which produce their wealth of blossom just before 

Memorial Day each year. Among the other plants at the cemetery are the hawthorn 
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hedges (crataegus oxycantha), as well as the forested areas of various species of oak, 

maple and hawthorn.

The curved beds north and south of the memorial are filled with Polyantha Roses 

framed within a copying of dwarf box and backed with a holly hedge.