Cambridge American Cemetery

and Memorial

AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION

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UNITED STATES

OF AMERICA

WWW.ABMC.GOV
OVERSEAS CEMETERIES AND MEMORIALS 1

PLANNING A VISIT

HOURS

The cemetery is open daily to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

The cemetery is closed on January 1 and December 25. It is open on all other 

U.S. and host country holidays. 

LOCATION

GPS coordinates: N52 13.020 E0 03.320

Cambridge American Cemetery

Madingley Road

Coton Cambridge

CB23 7PH

Email: cambridge@abmc.gov

Tel: +44 (0)1954 210350

The Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial is located three miles west 

of the university city of Cambridge, on the A1303 (off Junction 13 of the M11).

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION/PARKING

The cemetery can be reached by train from London Kings Cross toward Kings Lynn. 

Taxis and buses are available at Cambridge station. Car parking is available on site.

Cover: ABMC photo/Warrick Page

AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION

Cambridge American Cemetery 

And Memorial

I SHALL MAKE IT CLEAR AT THIS MOMENT THAT WE NEVER FAILED 

TO RECOGNIZE THE IMMENSE SUPERIORITY OF THE POWER USED BY 

THE UNITED STATES IN THE RESCUE OF FRANCE AND THE DEFEAT OF 

GERMANY.

 —PRIME MINISTER WINSTON CHURCHILL 

IN A RADIO BROADCAST MAY 13, 1945 AFTER VICTORY IN EUROPE

The Cambridge American Cemetery honors the service and sacrifice of 

Americans who served overseas during World War II, particularly in the 

United Kingdom. The United Kingdom was the principal base for the Allied 

Strategic Bombing Campaign and the liberation of Western Europe. Troops, 

supplies and equipment arrived by convoy across the Atlantic to defend the 

United Kingdom and support these efforts. They did so in the face of dangerous threats from German U-boats, which were brought under control 

through an arduous maritime campaign. The men and women buried and 

memorialized here represent the full diversity of American participation in 

World War II, both military and civilian.

In the Cambridge American Cemetery the headstones are aligned like the spokes of a wheel. 

(ABMC photo/WarrickPage)
2 AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION OVERSEAS CEMETERIES AND MEMORIALS 3

Through 1942 the balance poised precariously, with the Allies losing 

800,000 tons of shipping more than they replaced with new construction 

that year. In May 1943 the balance finally tipped decisively in favor of the 

Allies. In that month, increasingly effective Allied forces sank 41 of 240 

German U-Boats, while losing fewer than 300,000 tons of shipping to them. 

Growing air superiority allowed the Allies to take the fight ever closer to 

German submarine bases, especially those along the Bay of Biscay. Supplies 

and reinforcements crossed the Atlantic in ever increasing volume, while 

the German U-Boats dwindled in effectiveness. 

Over the course of World War II, Britain became a vast supply depot, 

military base, air base, and training and staging area for the Allies fighting 

in the European theater. 

During the war, more than 17 million tons of cargo and nearly two million servicemen and women from the United States passed through British 

ports. Many military bases and training areas were established throughout 

the British Isles to receive these forces, which later achieved decisive results 

in North Africa, on the beaches of Normandy and beyond. Airfields were 

enlarged and additional bases constructed for the U.S. Army Air Forces, 

which conducted a strategic bombing campaign against Germany in concert 

with the Royal Air Force and supported the ground invasion and liberation.

BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC

The Battle of the Atlantic was the prolonged campaign to secure Allied 

shipping from German U-boats and other threats in the Atlantic Ocean 

from 1939 through 1945. 

From the outbreak of World War II, German U-boats in the Atlantic attacked merchant ships on their way to Great Britain. They sank a 

great many merchant vessels and threatened to cut off Great Britain from 

vital sources of supply. In response to these attacks, Britain and its Allies 

instituted a transatlantic convoy system escorted by naval vessels. From 

1939 through 1941, the United States transitioned from relative isolation to 

become increasingly involved in securing portions of these maritime routes. 

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States became an Allied 

power and a full belligerent. At first, shipping losses surged as the Germans 

expanded their U-Boat campaign into vulnerable American waters. Here 

they found under-prepared and under-protected shipping. 

The success of the Allied war effort depended on moving troops and supplies across vast oceans. Naval operations prioritized escort, armed guard, 

and antisubmarine operations. New technologies like radar, sonar and 

improved depth charges entered service, and merchant ships increasingly 

traveled in convoys protected by combatant escorts. 

Coast Guardsmen of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spencer watch the explosion of a depth charge 

blasting German submarine U 175 about to attack a convoy in the North Atlantic. April 17, 1943. 

(U.S. Coast Guard)

British and American warships lie alongside each other at the U.S. naval base in Londonderry, Ulster. The American warships had escorted a convoy across the Atlantic, and arrived at Londonderry 

in January 1942. (Library of Congress)
4 AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION OVERSEAS CEMETERIES AND MEMORIALS 5

STRATEGIC BOMBING 

After World War I, military theorists developed the doctrine of strategic 

bombing. Advocates believed that the terror of mass casualties would 

cause civilian morale to collapse, and in turn force the capitulation of a 

nation being bombed. They also believed that the vulnerability of modern 

economies presented opportunities to destroy industrial “choke points,” 

depriving a nation under attack of the means to wage modern warfare. All 

major combatants attempted strategic bombardment to some degree, but 

only the British and Americans amassed the resources necessary to pursue 

the doctrine as envisioned.

The Royal Air Force, recovering from the Battle of Britain (July 2 – 

September 17, 1940) and the “Blitz” (September 7, 1940 – May 11, 1941), 

undertook large-scale offensive fighter sweeps into France and stepped 

up its strategic bombing of German cities, industries, and facilities early 

in the war. 

American bombers and crews began their Strategic Bombing Campaign 

on July 4, 1942, joining the British in the air war. Both Allies steadily 

expanded their strategic bombing capabilities, with the Americans expanding at a more rapid rate. 

By mid-1943 the Allies formally launched the Combined Bomber Offensive, which achieved a division of labor wherein the Americans conducted 

precision bombing during daylight with the British bombing at night, hammering the Germans around the clock. 

THE ESSENTIAL BASE OF OPERATIONS

During World War II, Britain served as an 

advanced base for Americans preparing to 

assist in the liberation of Europe.

In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt 

and British Prime Minister Winston S. 

Churchill were eager to seize the initiative 

and strike an effective blow against Nazi 

Germany. After some debate, the western 

Allies agreed to an invasion of North Africa 

named Operation TORCH. 

American forces that had been building in England since mid-to-late 1942 

were committed into Operation TORCH. 

American task forces landed on beaches 

flanking Casablanca, Morocco. Combined 

North American P-51 Mustangs of the 361st 

Fighter Group fly in formation over England 

in 1944. (Library of Congress)

The B-17G Flying Fortress “Mon Tete Rouge II,” and other bombers of the 452nd Bomb Group, 

flying on a mission to bomb German targets in France on March 28, 1944. 

(National Archives)

Prime Minister Winston Churchill and General 

Dwight D. Eisenhower inspect a mortar crew 

during a tour of an American Army base in 

England before D-Day, 1944. 

(Library of Congress)

Deep American daylight raids, such 

as one on Schweinfurt on October 14, 

1943, proved prohibitively costly until the 

Americans perfected a long-range fighter 

to escort their bombers to distant targets. 

This capability was achieved in December 

1943 with the P-51 Mustang, upgraded for 

a considerably greater range. Lieutenant 

Colonel Thomas Hitchcock, Jr. of the U.S. 

Army Air Forces participated as a pilot in 

the improvement program of the P-51. 

He had also flown in World War I as a volunteer pilot in the Lafayette Flying Corps. 

He was killed in the crash of a P-51 in 

England on April 18, 1944. He is buried 

at the Cambridge American Cemetery at Plot A Row 6 Grave 21. 

Advances in the Mediterranean opened up airfields complementing those 

in Great Britain, permitting shuttling between theaters and exposing more 

German territory to strategic bombing. 

Constant battering and expensive defensive efforts drained German 

resources, while German cities underwent horrific destruction. By the 

time of the Normandy landings, the German air force was decimated, and 

attacks targeting fuel facilities dramatically eroded German capabilities for 

mechanized warfare.

When the Strategic Bombing Campaign ended on April 12, 1945, the 

Americans had dropped 1,388,000 tons of bombs and the British 988,000 on 

Germany – at the cost of 110,000 airmen from both nations lost in action.
6 AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION OVERSEAS CEMETERIES AND MEMORIALS 7

Anglo-American task forces similarly 

attacked Oran and Algiers, Algeria. Near 

Casablanca and Oran, resistance was significant at first, but force and diplomacy induced 

the Vichy French to surrender. In Algiers, a 

pro-Allied uprising enabled the landing force 

to take the city with minimal conflict. 

American air units participating in the 

Strategic Bombing Campaign and the air war 

over Europe were based in England. Great 

Britain served as the training ground and 

staging area for Operation OVERLORD, 

the massive amphibious invasion of Europe 

through Normandy on June 6, 1944 – D-Day. 

As preparations for the invasion through 

Normandy continued, Allied bombing and 

French Resistance attacks isolated the future 

battlefield. Elaborate security and deception plans focused German attention in the 

vicinity of Pas-de-Calais, France, the shortest 

distance between Great Britain and the continent, instead of the Normandy beaches. 

On the night of June 5-6, 1944 American and British paratroopers landed 

in Normandy to secure egress from the beachheads, disrupt German counterattacks, and guard the flanks of selected beaches. 

On the morning of June 6, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Navy 

amphibious craft landed six Allied divisions, massively supported by air and 

naval bombardment, on beaches code-named UTAH, OMAHA, GOLD, 

JUNO, and SWORD. This began a difficult battle to secure and then break 

out of the beachhead. Fighting would continue for eleven months through 

France and into Germany until May 8, 1945.

After the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, American troops poured 

onto the European continent to liberate France and the Low Countries, 

and invade Germany. As the war continued in Europe, Britain continued 

to serve as a base for the Strategic Bombing Campaign, a communications 

zone supporting operations in Europe, a transit area for arriving reinforcements, and a haven for injured service members.

More than 1,600,000 American servicemen and women were in Great 

Britain as the invasion was launched. Numbers dwindled thereafter, but as 

late as April 30, 1945 the United Kingdom still hosted more than 224,000 

airmen, 109,000 communications zone troops, and 100,000 in hospitals or 

preparing to serve as individual replacements.

The United Kingdom served as a critical 

base for American operations throughout 

the war. U.S. troops embarked from there 

for the invasion of North Africa in November 1942, and for subsequent operations in 

the Mediterranean. 

At the height of the American presence 

in Great Britain, American servicemen and 

women were everywhere through much of 

the island nation. They built or occupied 

vast encampments of their own, but also 

spent time in local pubs and establishments, 

toured the countryside, and befriended 

British families. Both nations established 

impressive programs to bring the two cultures together amicably, and to 

accommodate and entertain the visitors. Tens of thousands of American 

servicemen married English women, bringing them back to the United 

States after the war ended. 

The American Forces Radio Network broadcast from the United Kingdom, 

bringing music and news from “home” to the British air waves. American Red 

Cross Service Clubs opened to entertain American servicemen off their bases. 

Cambridge American Cemetery honors more than 8,500 Americans 

who died in operations based out of the United Kingdom. These include 

those who battled to secure the Atlantic, those who fought in the skies 

over Europe, and those who prepared for and participated in the invasion 

through Normandy and the campaigns that followed.

U.S. Army paratroopers of the 2nd Battalion, 

503rd Parachute Infantry, inspect equipment 

before a training jump in England, 1942. 

(Library of Congress)

American servicemen and British civilians in London celebrate Germany’s surrender. 

May 8, 1945. (National Archives)

A Red Cross worker in an Army hospital in 

Great Britain assists a soldier in writing 

a letter back home. (Library of Congress)
8 AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION OVERSEAS CEMETERIES AND MEMORIALS 9

THE CEMETERY

The cemetery is situated on the north slope of a hill from which Ely 

Cathedral, 14 miles in the distance, can be seen on a clear day. It is framed 

by woodland on the west and south. The road to Madingley runs along the 

cemetery’s northern border.

Within the seven grave plots (A through G), there are 24 unknown 

burials. The Cambridge American Cemetery commemorates one Medal 

of Honor recipient and three sets of brothers. The Medal of Honor recipient 

and five of the brothers are inscribed on the Wall of the Missing. Only one 

brother of the three pairs is buried at the cemetery.

Every grave is marked with a white marble headstone: 80 with a Star 

of David for those of the Jewish faith, and 3,732 with a Latin cross for the 

others. The backs of the headstones are inscribed with the service numbers 

of the decedents. As in all ABMC cemeteries, the burials are not separated 

by rank; officers and enlisted men are interred side-by-side.

The entrance welcomes visitors to Cambridge American Cemetery. (ABMC photo/Warrick Page)

ABMC photo/Warrick Page
10 AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION OVERSEAS CEMETERIES AND MEMORIALS 11

The north face of the memorial building. (ABMC photo/Warrick Page)

The map displays locations of American units in the United Kingdom during World War II. 

(ABMC photo/Warrick Page) 

THE MEMORIAL

The memorial building is built from Portland stone, as is St. Paul’s Cathedral and many other monumental buildings in London. It is 85 feet long, 

30 feet wide and 28 feet high. On the north face of the memorial are five 

pylons, each inscribed with one of the years 1941 to 1945, during which 

the United States participated in World War II. Above these pylons runs 

the inscription: 

Grant unto them o lord eternal rest.

Below the bronze rope railing on the north face balcony is inscribed:

In grateful tribute to their sacrifice and in proud memory 

of their valor.

The entrance to the memorial at the west end is framed by two pylons. The 

main entrance doors are of teakwood. They bear bronze representations of 

military equipment and naval vessels.

On the south exterior wall of the memorial building is a map of the 

United Kingdom depicting each location where an American unit of battalion size or larger was stationed during World War II. The places where 

units of brigade size or larger were stationed are indicated by name. The 

map also shows the principal air and sea approach routes to Great Britain 

from the United States, and the invasion routes to North Africa in 1942 and 

to Normandy in 1944. It is embellished with the sculptured coats of arms of 

the United States and the United Kingdom. 

The interior of the memorial building is separated into a large room and a 

small devotional chapel at the far end. The outstanding feature of the room 

is its impressive map: “The Mastery of the Atlantic – The Great Air Assault.” 

The map was designed by the American artist Herbert Gute from data 

prepared by the American Battle Monuments Commission. It indicates the 

principal sea routes across the Atlantic and the types of naval and commercial craft which bore men and munitions to Europe from the United States. 

It also depicts aircraft which operated in the anti-submarine campaign and 

the Strategic Bombing Campaign by the United States and Royal Air Forces 

against occupied Europe. Air lanes indicate routes from the United Kingdom 

and Italy to various targets – military, industrial, and transportation – as 

explained in the legend. The map is 30 feet long, 18 feet high.
12 AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION OVERSEAS CEMETERIES AND MEMORIALS 13

THE MALL

Just beyond the visitor building is a 72-foot flagpole on a tall platform. 

The two malls that frame the grave plots extend from the flagpole.

The great mall stretches eastward from the flagpole platform to the 

memorial building at the opposite end. Along the south side of the mall 

is the Wall of the Missing. The north side is lined with a single row 

of double-pink hawthorn trees.

The mall includes reflecting pools that stretch eastward from the flagpole. 

The Wall of the Missing extends along its south side to the memorial area. The 

west mall runs northward from the flagpole to the cemetery’s lower entrance.

The west mall stretches northward from the flagpole platform to the lower 

gates of the cemetery and the service area. The grave plots extend out in 

concentric arcs toward the Wall of the Missing.

The headstones in the graves area are arranged in seven curved grave plots, 

A through G. Those within the plots are aligned in seven rows of concentric 

arcs whose wide sweep across the green lawns may best be viewed from 

the veranda of the memorial building. All of the headstones are laid out 

‘theatre-style’, looking toward the flagpole. The graves area layout might 

also evoke the propellers of a plane, the spokes of a wheel, or the layout 

of a baseball field.
14 AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION OVERSEAS CEMETERIES AND MEMORIALS 15

The visitor center is located convenient to the cemetery entrance. (ABMC photo/Warrick Page)

The golden lettering and star indicate that Lt.Col. Leon R. Vance, Jr. is a recipient of the Medal 

of Honor. (ABMC photo/Robert Uth).

NOTABLE MEMORIALS

« Crew of the USS Reuben James, the first American warship lost in the 

Battle of the Atlantic, Wall of the Missing. She was sunk by a German 

U-boat on October 31, 1941, while escorting a convoy.

« Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., Lieutenant, U.S. Navy Reserve, Wall of the 

Missing. Brother of the late President John F. Kennedy. On August 12, 

1944, his plane exploded while on a mission from Britain against a 

German rocket site in France.

« Glenn Miller (listed as Alton G.), Major, U.S. Army Air Forces, 

famed musician and composer, Wall of the Missing. He vanished 

on Dec. 15, 1944 after flying in a single-engine airplane headed 

from England to France.

« Leon R. Vance, Jr., Lieutenant Colonel U.S. Army Air Corps, Medal 

of Honor recipient, Wall of the Missing. He displayed conspicuous 

gallantry on June 5, 1944 as command pilot of a heavy bomb group 

on a mission to destroy German coastal positions in France. He was 

wounded but survived. Tragically, Lt.Col. Vance’s air evacuation plane 

bound for home to the United States disappeared without a trace on 

July 26, 1944.

THE VISITOR CENTER

Across the entrance court is a visitor center, which opened in 2014, where 

you can explore the historical events relating to those who are memorialized 

here through a permanent exhibition. At the visitor center you can meet 

members of the cemetery staff, who are happy to answer questions about 

those who are commemorated at the cemetery.

The 4,000-square-foot center, which is free and open to the public, honors the courage and sacrifice of the men and women who participated in the 

Battle of the Atlantic, the Strategic Bombing Campaign, and the build-up to 

the D-Day invasion and subsequent operations. Through interpretive exhibits that incorporate personal histories, photographs, films, and interactive 

displays, visitors gain a better understanding of the British-American partnership that contributed to the Allied victory in Europe in World War II.

The Sacrifice Gallery in the center connects the visitor with personal 

stories of some of the men and women buried or memorialized there on 

English soil.

To help visitors further explore the history, there is a short introductory 

film. The center also provides touch-screen kiosks equipped with digital 

interactives where you can explore the Battle of the Atlantic, the Strategic 

Bombing Campaign, and the story of Americans in Great Britain during 

World War II.
16 AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION OVERSEAS CEMETERIES AND MEMORIALS 17

THE CHAPEL

Over the teakwood doorway to the chapel is the following inscription in 

bronze characters:

Into thy hands o lord.

The words FAITH and HOPE in bronze letters are set into the chancel rail 

in the chapel. A cloth of mail is spread over the Portland stone altar on 

which rests a large bronze cross. At the altar base rest the Tablets of Moses. 

Flanking the altar are two large ornamental candelabra embellished 

with mosaic.

A mosaic by Francis Scott Bradford (an American muralist, popular 

during the 1930s, who developed a unique style of allegorical and figurative 

paintings) depicting the Archangel trumpeting the arrival of the Resurrection, and the Last Judgment covers the wall above the altar. It continues 

across the entire ceiling of the memorial building, with pictures of ghostly 

aircraft accompanied by mourning angels making their final flight. The 

deep blue of the ceiling denotes the depth of infinity, while lighter colors 

reflect the light of Heaven breaking through the earthly layers of the sky. 

A lighter nimbus surrounding each of the single-engine, twin-engine and 

four-engine aircraft separates them from earthly forces while they carry the 

souls of the men who perished in the skies.

The ship and aircraft depicted above the altar memorialize members of 

the naval and air forces who are buried or memorialized at the cemetery. 

The Latin Cross and Star of David symbolize those who are buried beneath 

the ground. Mourning angels and an inscription from the 23rd Psalm are 

also featured in the design.

WALL OF THE MISSING

The Wall of the Missing is 472 feet in length and is made of Portland stone 

(a limestone quarried on the south coast of England). On the wall are 

recorded the names and particulars of 5,127 Missing in Action, Lost or 

Buried at Sea. They come from every state of the Union and the District of 

Columbia. Bronze rosettes indicate those whose remains have subsequently 

been recovered and identified.

Four statues - a soldier, airman, sailor, and Coast Guardsman – stand 

guard over the Wall of the Missing.

The deep blue of the ceiling above the altar denotes the depth of infinity.

(ABMC photo/Warrick Page)

The statue of a Coast Guardsman is one of four standing watch over the Wall of the Missing.

(ABMC photo/Robert Uth)
18 AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION OVERSEAS CEMETERIES AND MEMORIALS 19

The East Coast Memorial is located in Battery Park in New York City 

at the southern end of Manhattan Island. It is about 150 yards from 

the South Ferry subway station on the IRT Lines and stands just south 

of historic Fort Clinton, on a site furnished by the Department of Parks 

of the City of New York.

GPS Coordinates: N40 42.1381 W074 0.9242

Similar to Cambridge American Cemetery, this memorial commemorates 

those soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and merchant 

mariners who lost their lives in the western waters of the Atlantic during 

World War II.

On each side of this axis are four tall gray granite slabs upon which 

are engraved the name, rank, organization and state of 4,611 American 

servicemen who are listed as missing in action or lost at sea.

The inscription reads: 

1941 «««1945

Erected by the United States of America

in proud and grateful remembrance

of her sons

who gave their lives in her service

and who sleep in the american coastal waters

of the Atlantic Ocean

into thy hands, o lord

EAST COAST MEMORIAL

The eagle atop the base points southwest to the Statue of Liberty. (ABMC photo/Robert Uth)
20 AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION

BELGIUM

Ardennes American Cemetery

Neupré †† 12 mi SW of Liège

Flanders Field American Cemetery

Waregem † 55 mi W of Brussels

Henri-Chapelle 

American Cemetery

Henri-Chapelle †† 18 mi E of Liège

NETHERLANDS

Netherlands American Cemetery

Margraten †† 6 mi E of Maastricht

LUXEMBOURG

Luxembourg American Cemetery

Luxembourg City †† In city

ITALY

Florence American Cemetery

Florence †† 7 mi S of Florence

Sicily-Rome American Cemetery

Nettuno †† 38 mi S of Rome

TUNISIA

North Africa American Cemetery

Tunis †† 10 mi NE of Tunis

MEXICO

Mexico City National Cemetery

Mexican-American War | In city

PANAMA

Corozal American Cemetery

Panama Canal creation | 3 mi N 

of Panama City

PHILIPPINES

Clark Veterans Cemetery

Angeles City | 52 mi NW of Manila

Manila American Cemetery

Manila †† 6 mi SE of Manila

FRANCE

Aisne-Marne American Cemetery

Belleau † 40 mi SW of Reims

Brittany American Cemetery

St. James †† 15 mi SE 

of Mont St. Michel

Epinal American Cemetery

Dinozé †† 45 mi SE of Nancy

Lorraine American Cemetery

St. Avold †† 28 mi E of Metz

Meuse-Argonne American 

Cemetery

Romagne-sous-Montfaucon

† 26 mi NW of Verdun

Normandy American Cemetery

Colleville-sur-Mer

†† 11 mi NW of Bayeux

Oise-Aisne American Cemetery

Fère-en-Tardenois

† 27 mi SW of Reims

Rhône American Cemetery

Draguignan †† 28 mi W of Cannes

Somme American Cemetery

Bony † 120 mi NE of Paris

St. Mihiel American Cemetery

Thiaucourt † 23 mi SW of Metz

Suresnes American Cemetery

Suresnes † †† 4 mi W of Paris

ENGLAND

Brookwood American Cemetery

Brookwood † 28 mi SW of London

Cambridge American Cemetery

Cambridge †† 3 mi W of Cambridge

† WWI Cemetery

†† WWII Cemetery

AMERICAN MILITARY CEMETERIES AROUND THE WORLD

The American Battle 

Monuments Commission

The American Battle Monuments Commission – guardian of America’s 

overseas commemorative cemeteries and memorials – honors the service, 

achievements and sacrifice of the United States armed forces. Since 1923, 

ABMC has executed this mission by (1) the erection and maintenance of 

suitable memorial shrines, in the U.S. when authorized by Congress and 

where U.S. forces have served overseas since April 6, 1917; (2) designing, 

constructing, operating, and maintaining permanent American military 

burial grounds in foreign countries; and (3) supervising the design and 

construction on foreign soil of U.S. military memorials, monuments, and 

markers by other U.S. citizens and organizations, both public and private, 

and encouraging their maintenance. 

In the performance of its mission, ABMC administers, operates, and 

maintains 25 permanent American military cemeteries; 27 federal memorials, monuments, and markers, and eight nonfederal memorials. Three 

memorials are located in the U.S.; the remaining memorials and all of 

ABMC’s cemeteries are located in 16 foreign countries, the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the British dependency of 

Gibraltar. ABMC’s World War I, World War II, and Mexico City cemeteries 

are closed to future burials, except for the remains of U.S. war dead discovered in World War I and II battle areas. 

In addition to grave sites, the World War I and II cemeteries and three 

memorials on U.S. soil commemorate, on Walls of the Missing, U.S. service 

members who went missing in action or were lost or buried at sea during 

World War I and II, and in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
2300 Clarendon Boulevard Suite 500

Arlington, VA 22201

(703) 696-6900

WWW.ABMC.GOV

MA ER CI AN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMM SI S OI N

UNITED STATES

OF AMERICA

AMERICAN BATTLE 

MONUMENTS COMMISSION

“Time will not dim the glory of their deeds.”

GENERAL OF THE ARMIES JOHN J. PERSHING