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American Battle Monuments Commission

Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial
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LOCATION

 

Ardennes Cemetery is situated near the 

southeast edge of the village of Neupre 

(formerly Neuville-en-Condroz), 12 miles 

southwest of Liege, Belgium. Highway 

N-63 from Liege to Marche or Dinant and 

Paris passes the main entrance. Excellent 

autoroutes lead to Liege from major cities 

in Belgium, the Netherlands and West 

Germany. Liege can be reached by train 

from Paris (Gare du Nord) in about 5 1⁄2 

hours, from Brussels in a little more than 

1 hour, and from Germany via Aachen. 

Taxicabs are available from Liege station. 

Hotel accommodations are available in Liege.

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 memorialization sites.

HISTORY

Three months after the successful 6 June 1944 landings on the beaches of Normandy, 

Allied Forces were advancing much more rapidly than had been planned or expected. In 

the center, the U.S. First Army was sweeping through France with the U.S. Third Army 

on its right. By 8 September they had liberated Luxembourg, eastern Belgium, and Liege 

and were driving toward the Germany city of Aachen. On the left, the British Second 

Army had entered Brussels on 3 September and Antwerp the following day, as the 

Canadian First Army kept pace along the coast liberating Ostend and Bruges on 

successive days.

Patrols of the U.S. First Army crossed the German frontier in the Ardennes area on 

11 September and the next day crossed the German frontier near Aachen. Moving 

eastward toward the Siegfried Line, they quickly encountered strong resistance. Almost 
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simultaneously progress slowed all along the advancing Allied line as opposition 

stiffened. The retreating enemy finally had achieved a stabilized defensive line.

After the bold, but unsuccessful, airborne effort to establish crossings of the lower 

Rhine in late September, the main effort of the Allies was shifted to the center where the 

U.S. First Army, with strong air support from the U.S. Ninth Air Force, encircled Aachen 

which surrendered on 21 October. The U.S. Ninth Army, organized at Brest in Brittany, 

was shifted early in November from the right of the U.S. First Army to its left. Together 

they continued the attack to the Roer River against bitter opposition, especially in the 

dense Hurtgen Forest.

The Allied attacks were suddenly interrupted in the Ardennes on 16 December, 

when the enemy launched against the U.S. First and Third Armies its final major counteroffensive of the war. Popularly known as the “Battle of the Bulge,” it was officially 

designated the Ardennes-Alsace Campaign which included the second half of the 

enemy’s planned counteroffensive that was launched on New Year’s Eve in Alsace to the 

south against the U.S. Seventh Army and the French First Army. After furious struggles 

in bitterly cold weather, all of the attacks were halted.

As the enemy onslaughts in the Ardennes and Alsace were being brought to a halt, 

the Allies prepared and approved plans establishing three major successive objectives; 

the destruction of enemy forces west of the Rhine, the seizure of bridgeheads across the 

river, then coordinated drives into the heart of Germany. The first phase commenced 

with an advance on 2 February 1945 by the U.S. First Army in the center to seize control 

of the upstream dams on the Roer River. In the north, the advance to the Rhine was to 

begin on 8 February with the Canadian First Army advancing to the southeast, to be 

followed two days later with a converging attack to the northe ast by the U.S. Ninth 
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Army. But on 10 February, when the U.S. First Army reached the last and most 

important dam, it was discovered that the enemy had wrecked the discharge valves during 

the previous night. The resultant heavy flow of water from the dams halted the U.S. 

Ninth Army on the north for two weeks.

On 23 February, the U.S. Ninth Army began its crossing of the Roer and the U.S. 

First Army renewed its advance to the Rhine. As the offensive gained momentum, it 

became a pursuit to destroy as many enemy units as possible before they could cross the 

Rhine. The U.S. First Army reached Cologne on 5 March; two days later it seized the 

only undemolished bridge across the Rhine which was located at Remagen. By 10 

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

This unanticipated good fortune was exploited immediately. Additional troops 

were rushed to the area. By 21 March the bridgehead was expanded to a width of 20 

miles and a depth of eight miles. The next day, 22 March, the U.S. Third Army made a 

surprise amphibious crossing of the Rhine at Oppenheim. On 23 and 24 March, the longplanned major amphibious and airborne assault crossing of the Rhine by the British 

Second, the Canadian First, and the U.S. Ninth Armies was carried out. Then in rapid 

succession, the U.S. First and the Third Armies broke out of their bridgeheads on 25 

March, the U.S. Seventh Army crossed the Rhine near Worms on 26 March and the 

French First Army Crossed it on 31 March, thus achieving the first two planned 

objectives. Four days later the encirclement of the Ruhr Valley was completed as all 

Allied Armies continued to advance into Germany on a broad front.

THE SITE

The Ardennes American Cemetery, 90 1⁄2 acres in extent, is one of fourteen permanent 

American World War II military cemeteries constructed on foreign soil by the American 

Battle Monuments Commission. The 1st Infantry Division liberated the site on 8 

September 1944. A temporary cemetery was established on the site on 8 February 1945. 

After the war, when the temporary cemeteries were disestablished by the Army, the 

remains of American military Dead whose next of kin requested permanent interment 

overseas were moved to one of the fourteen permanent cemetery sites on foreign soil, 

usually the one which was closest to the temporary cemetery. There the Graves 

Registration Service interred them in the distinctive grave patterns proposed by the 

cemetery’s architect and approved by the Commission. The design and construction of 

all facilities at the permanent sites were the responsibility of the Commission, i.e., the 

chapel, museum, visitors’ building, superintendent’s quarters, service facilities, utilities 

and paths, roads and walls. The Commission was also responsible for the sculpture, 

landscaping and other improvements. Many of those interred here died during the 

enemy’s final major counteroffensive in the Ardennes in December 1944 and January 

1945. They include some service troops who were fighting as infantry. Others gave their 

lives in the advance to the Rhine and across Germany, and in the strategic bombardment 

of Europe.
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ARCHITECTS

Architects for the cemetery and memorial were Reinhard, Hofmeister & Walquist of New 

York City. The landscape architect was Richard K. Webel of Roslyn, Long Island.

GENERAL LAYOUT

The Ardennes American Cemetery is generally rectangular in shape. Its grave plots 

arranged in the form of a Greek cross separated by two broad intersecting paths. The 

cemetery itself rests on a slope descending gently northward toward Neupre. To the 

south and east, it is enframed in woodland in which red and white oak, beech and ash 

predominate; its west side is lined by an avenue of stately lindens (Tilia Platyphyllus) and 

its north boundary by informal tree group. Entry is made into the cemetery through the 

main gate located on the north side of highway N-63. It is set within plantings of black 

and white pine (Pinus Nigra Austriace and Pinus Strobus). An evergreen hedge backs its 

wing walls. Inside the main gate, a straight avenue bordered by horse chestnut (Aesculus 

Hippocastanum) trees leads for 300 yard through woods to a broad green mall flanked on 

each side with parking spaces. At the far right (east) side is the Visitors’ Building; on the 
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left the Superintendent’s house. The memorial is on the axis. From the parking area a 

flight of step leads down to the memorial; this path divides to pass around the building 

and leads to the burial area beyond. 

Beyond the woods to the west are the wells, reservoirs, and service building. 

Drinking water is treated in a purification system.

THE MEMORIAL

The memorial of English Portland Whitbed limestone is austerely rectangular in form. It 

projects on all sides beyond its base which, in turn, is set upon a Danube Gray granit e 

podium reached by seven steps; these extend entirely around the building except where 

they are interrupted at the south end to permit access to the main door. The podium at the 

north end affords an impressive view of the burial area and of the countryside beyond.

Carved in high relief on the south facade of the memorial is an American eagle 17 

feet high. Beside it are three figures symbolizing Justice, Liberty, and Truth. The 

composition is balanced by 13 stars representing the United States. This sculpture is 

from the design of C. Paul Jennewein of New York City; the work was executed by Jean 
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Juge of Paris. The main doors to the memorial are of stainless steel and bear in relief the 

dates: 1941 - 1945.

The south, east, and west interior walls of the memorial are decorated with large 

maps composed of inlaid marble embracing a range of colors from white through cream 

and gray to black. Much of the lettering is of bronze; other topographical and military 

details are rendered in mosaic, or enameled or plated bronze. The map above the door 

records both the last great enemy offensive ARDENNES, popularly known as “The 

Battle of the Budge,” which took place during the winter of 1944-1945, and also the 

subsequent advance of the Allied forces across the RHINELAND to the Rhine River. It 

measures 19 1⁄2 feet high by 22 1⁄2 feet long. Elaborating this map is an inscription in 

English, French, and Flemish, of which this is the English text:

ON 16 DECEMBER 1944 THE ENEMY MADE ITS LAST CONCERTED EFFORT 

TO STAVE OFF DEFEAT, UNLEASHING THREE ARMIES ON A NARROW 

FRONT. PREPARED IN GREATEST SECRECY AND LAUNCHED UNDER OF 

FOG AND RAIN, THE ATTACK IN THE ARDENNES WAS INITIALLY 

SUCCESSFUL. BREAKING THROUGH ON A 45-MILE FRONT, HIS FORCES 

PENETRATED OVER 60 MILES, BUT AMERICAN SOLDIERS, FIGHTING 

VALIANTLY, HELD THE CRITICAL SHOULDERS OF THE SALIENT.

REACTING PROMPTLY AND DECISIVELY, THE ALLIES RUSHED ALL 

AVAILABLE RESERVES TO THE SCENE. A FURIOUS STRUGGLE DEVELOPED 

AT THE ROAD CENTER OF ST. VITH WHERE THE ENEMY ADVANCE WAS 

STUBBORNLY DELAYED. AT BASTOGNE, ALTHOUGH SURROUNDED FOR 
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FIVE DAYS, AMERICAN TROOPS, WITH THE HELP OF SUPPLIES DROPPED BY 

IX TROOP CARRIER COMMAND AIRCRAFT, MAINTAINED THEIR DEFENSE. 

WHILE THE FIRST ARMY BLOCKED THE ENEMY’S EFFORTS TO BREAK 

THROUGH TOWARD LIEGE AND CROSS THE MEUSE, THE THIRD ARMY BY A 

MASTERFUL CHANGE OF FRONT TURNED NORTH AND ON 22 DECEMBER 

COUNTERATTACKED THE SOUTHERN FLANK OF THE PENETRATION. ON 23 

DECEMBER THE SKIES CLEARED, ENABLING OUR EIGHTH AND NINTH AIR 

FORCES TO ENTER THE BATTLE AND STRIKE AT THE ENEMY ARMOR AND 

SUPPLY COLUMNS.

THE THIRD ARMY CONTINUED ITS ADVANCE, RELIEVING BASTOGNE 

ON 26 DECEMBER. THE FIRST ARMY’S COUNTER ATTACK FROM THE 

NORTH CAME ON 3 JANUARY 1945. STRUGGLING FORWARD AGAINST 

DETERMINED OPPOSITION AND ACROSS SNOW-COVERED MINE FIELDS IN 

BITTERLY COLD WEATHER, THE THIRD AND FIRST ARMIES MET AT 
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HOUFFALIZE ON THE 16TH. THE SALIENT WAS COMPLETELY REDUCED BY 

25 JANUARY.

WHILE MAINTAINING THEIR ADVANCE IN THE ARDENNES, AMERICAN 

TROOPS NOW PUSHED DOWN THE ROER VALLEY. ON 23 FEBRUARY, THE 

FIRST AND NINTH ARMIES LAUNCHED THEIR ASAULT ACROSS THIS RIVER, 

WITH FIGHTERS AND MEDIUM BOMBERS OF THE NINTH AIR FORCE 

CLOSELY SUPPORTING THE FORWARD UNITS, AND SEIZED BRIDGEHEADS 

AT JULICH AND DUREN. AS THE OFFENSIVE GATHERED MOMENTUM, 

UNITS TO THE SOUTH JOINED THE ADVANCE. THE FIRST ARMY REACHED 

COLOGNE BY 5 MARCH AND WHEELED TO THE SOUTHEAST. THE NEXT 

DAY THE THIRD ARMY ATTACKED NORTH OF THE MOSELLE. PRECEDED 

BY AIRCRAFT STRIKES THAT DISORGANIZED THE RETREATING ENEMY, 

OUR GROUND FORCES ADVANCED RAPIDLY. ON 7 MARCH THE FIRST 

ARMY SEIZED THE UNDEMOLISHED BRIDGE AT REMAGEN, THEN 

PROMPTLY ESTABLISHED AND EXPANDED A BRIDGEHEAD ACROSS THE 

RIVER. THE LINE OF THE RHINE, THE LAST BARRIER IN THE WEST, HAD 

BEEN REACHED.

The map, 19 1⁄2 by 26 1⁄4 feet, on the west wall records the military operations in 

western Europe from the landings in Normandy and the French Riviera up to the end of 

the war. On this map also is depicted the great air assault against the enemy’s military 

and industrial systems. Descriptive texts in three languages accompany the map. This is 

the English version:

ON 6 JUNE 1944, PRECEEDED BY AIRBORNE UNITS AND COVERED BY 

NAVAL AND AIR BOMBARDMENT, UNITED STATES AND BRITISH 

COMMONWEALTH FORCES LANDED ON THE COAST OF NORMANDY. 

PUSHING SOUTHWARD 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 TOWARDS 

AVRANCHES. CRUSHED BETWEEN THE AMERICANS ON THE SOUTH AND 

WEST AND THE BRITISH ON THE NORTH, AND ATTACKED CONTINUOUSLY 

BY THE U.S. AND BRITISH AIR FORCES, THE ENEMY RETREATED ACROSS 

THE SEINE.

SUSTAINED BY THE HERCULEAN ACHIEVEMENTS OF ARMY AND 

NAVY SUPPLY PERSONNEL, THE ALLIED GROUND AND AIR FORCES 

PURSUED VIRGOROUSLY. 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 FRENCH FIRST ARMIES 

ADVANCING NORTHWARD FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN. ON THE LEFT 

FLANK, BRITISH AND CANADIAN TROOPS HAD ENTERED THE 

NETHERLANDS. ON 17 SEPTEMBER THE IX TROOP CARRIER COMMAND 

AND THE ROYAL AIR FORCE DROPPED THREE AIRBORNE DIVISIONS IN THE 
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NIJMEGEN-ARNHEM AREA IN A 

BOLD BUT UNSUCCESSFUL 

ATTEMPT TO SEIZE THE 

CROSSINGS OF THE LOWER RHINE.

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. THE 

FIRST AND NINTH ARMIES BROKE 

THROUGH THE SIEGFRIED LINE 

AND CAPTURED AACHEN. 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. THEN, 

IN THE ARDENNES, ON 16 

DECEMBER, THE ENEMY 

LAUNCHED HIS FINAL MAJOR 

COUNTER-OFFENSIVE. PROMPT 

TACTICAL COUNTERMEASURES 

AND THE SUPERB FIGHTING 

QUALITIES OF AMERICAN 

SOLDIERS AND AIRMEN FINALLY 

HALTED THIS DRIVE A 

CONCURRENT OFFENSIVE LAUNCHE BETWEEN SAARBRUCKEN AND 

COLMAR MET THE SAME FATE. 

DURING FEBRUARY AND MARCH THE WEST BANK OF THE RHINE WAS 

CLEARED IN A SERIES OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL OPERATIONS. ON 7 MARCH 

AMERICAN FORCES SEIZED THE ONE REMAINING UNDEMOLISHED BRIDGE 

ATREMAGEN. A SURPRISE CROSSING WAS EFFECTED AT OPPENHEIM ON 

22 MARCH, THEN , IN THE NEXT TWO DAYS ALLIED TROOPS SPEARHEADED 

BY A MASSIVE AIRBORNE ATTACK, MADE THEIR MAJOR ASSAULT 

CROSSING NEAR WESEL. PUSHING RAPIDLY EASTWARD OUR ARMIES 

ENCIRCLED THE ENTIRE RUHR VALLEY IN A GIGANTIC DOUBLE 

ENVELOPMENT. WITH AIR AND GROUND FORCES OPERATING AS A TEAM, 

THE ALLIES SWEEP ACROSS GERMANY TO MEET THE ADVANCING TROOPS 

OF THE U.S.S.R. AT THE ELBE AND FORCE THE COMPLETE SURRENDER OF 

THE ENEMY ON 8 MAY 1945, 337 DAYS AFTER THE INITIAL LANDINGS IN 

FRANCE.
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Ranged along each side of the map are six panels illustrating the combat arms; they 

are painted in black upon white Carrara marble, the background of each picture being cut 

back and gilded, recalling the golden finish of the ceiling. The subjects of these panels 

are (as one faces them) see page 9:

LEFT RIGHT

Heavy Bombers Battlefield Communications 

Naval Fire Support Antiaircraft Artillery

Paratroopers Medium Bombers

Battlefield First Aid Field Artillery

Armor in Action Infantry in Action

Infantry Support Weapons Combat Engineer Bridging

The map on the opposite (east) wall portrays the Services of Supply of the 

European Theater of Operations. The English version of its descriptive text reads:

THE FIRST CONTINGENT OF AMERICAN TROOPS REACHED THE BRITISH 

ISLES ON 26 JANUARY 1942. THE SERVICES OF SUPPLY WAS PROMPTLY 

ORGANIZED TO PROVIDE FOR THE TRANSPORTATION, SHELTER, SUPPLY 

AND HOSPITALIZATION OF THEIR CONSTANTLY INCREASING NUMBERS. 

BY JUNE 1942 IT WAS ACTIVELY FUNCTIONING – PREPARING AIRFIELDS, 

TRAINING CAMPS, PORTS AND DEPOTS, AS WELL AS RECEIVING, STORING 

AND DISTRIBUTING THE 16,000,000 TONS OF CARGO WHICH REACHED THE 

UNITED KINGDOM FROM THE UNITED STATES PRIOR TO THE CROSSCHANNEL ATTACK. IN NOVEMBER 1942 THE INVASION OF NORTH AFRICA 

DEFERRED FOR MANY MONTHS THE BUILD-UP FOR THE EUROPEAN 

ASSAULT. NEVERTHELESS, ON 6 JUNE 1944 WHEN THE ALLIES LANDED IN 

NORMANDY, THE SERVICES WERE READY FOR THIS SUPREME TEST.

INITIALLY SUPPLIES WERE LANDED OVER THE OPEN BEACHES, BUT 

NAVAL PERSONNEL PROMPTLY ESTABLISHED TEMPORARY ANCHORAGES 

AND TWO ARTIFICIAL HARBORS (KNOWN AS “MULBERRIES”) BY SINKING 

SHIPS AND PREFABRICATED CONCRETE CAISSONS. THESE WERE OF 

PRICELESS AID IN THE UNLOADING OF TROOPS AND CARGO. IN SPITE OF 

THE LACK OF A MAJOR PORT, WHEN THE ADVANCE WAS RESUMED IN 

JULY ADEQUATE SUPPLIES HAD BEEN ASSEMBLED IN THE BEACHHEAD.

WHILE THE ALLIED ARMES SWEPT FORWARD FROM NORMANDY, U.S. 

AND FRENCH TROOPS LANDED IN SOUTHERN FRANCE. AS THE DISTANCES 

FROM THE PORTS LENGTHENED, THE TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM 

BECAME ACUTE. NEVERTHELESS, THE SUPPLY ORGANIZATION 

FUNCTIONED MOST EFFECTIVELY, REPAIRING AND BUILDING ROADS AND 

RAILROADS, OPERATING HIGH-SPEED TRUCK CONVOYS SUCH AS THE 

“RED BALL EXPRESS,” EXTENDING FUEL PIPELINES AND PROVIDING AIR 

LIFT.

THE ALLIED NAVIES PLAYED A VITAL ROLE BY SAFEGUARDING A 

CONTINUOUS FLOW OF TROOPS AND SUPPLIES ACROSS THE SEAS. THE 

LINE OF SUPPLY WAS DEVELOPED FIRST FROM THE ASSAULT BEACHES, 
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THEN THROUGH CHERBOURG AND LE HAVRE. WHEN ANTWERP WAS 

OPENED IN LATE NOVEMBER THE MAIN LINES OF COMMUNICATION FOR 

THE 12TH AND 21ST ARMY GROUPS WERE SHIFTED TO THAT PORT. FROM 

THE SOUTH THE SUPPLY LINE FOR THE 6TH ARMY GROUP CAME UP THE 

RHONE VALLEY FROM MARSEILLE.

ON 21 MARCH 1945 THE EVE OF THE MAIN CROSSING OF THE RHINE 

THE U.S. COMMUNICATIONS ZONE, WHICH NOW CONTROLLED THE 

SUPPLY OF U.S. TROOPS, COMPRISED FIVE BASE SECTIONS, ONE 

INTERMEDIATE SECTION AND TWO ADVANCE SECTIONS. THESE 

PREPARED AND OPERATED THE FACILITIES AND INSTALLATIONS 

REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN AND REINFORCE OUR TROOPS ON THE 

CONTINENT AND IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. AFTER THE LANDINGS 

NORMANDY, THE BEACHES AND PORTS OPERATED BY AMERICAN FORCES 

IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM DISCHARGED OVER 15,3000,000 TONS OF CARGO 

ORIGINATING IN THE UNITED STATES, THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE 

MEDTERRANEAN AREA.

THE ADVANCE SECTIONS OPERATED IN DIRECT SUPPORT OF THE 

ARMIES, DRAWING SUPPLIES FROM THE BASE AND INTERMIDATE 

SECTIONS. THESE SUPPLIES WERE FORWARDED TO THE COMBAT UNITS. 

AN EFFICIENT SYSTEM FOR THE HOSPITALIZATION AND EVACUATION OF 

THE SICK AND WOUNDED OPERATED CONTINUOUSLY. IN WORLD WAR II 

THE DECISIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE SUPPLY AND TECHNICAL SERVICES IN 

MODERN WARFARE WAS CLEARLY MANIFESTED.

This map also is embellished by 12 panels representing functions of the Services of 

Supply, viz:

LEFT RIGHT

Atlantic Supply Convoy Ordnance Repair

Military Railroad Operations Supply Depots

Rear Area Communications Supply By Air

Port Operation Military Chaplain

Military Police Traffic Control Airfield Construction

Engineer Heavy Bridge Medical Corps

The maps were designed by Dean Cornwell of New York City from data prepared 

by The American Battle Monuments Commission. They were fabricated by the 

Pandolfini Company of Pietrasanta, Italy. The panels were both designed and executed 

by Dean Cornwell.

At the far (north) end of the building is the chapel. The west wall bears the 

dedication:

1941-1945

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IN PROUD REMEMBRANCE OF THE

ACHIEVEMENTS OF HER SONS AND 
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IN HUMBLE TRIBUTE TO THEIR SACRIFICES

THIS MEMORIAL HAS BEEN ERECTED BY

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Engraved on the opposite wall is this prayer abridged from that ascribed to Cardinal 

Newman:

O LORD SUPPORT US ALL THE DAY LONG

UNTIL THE SHADOWS LENGTHEN

AND OUR WORK IS DONE

THEN IN THY MERCY GRANT US

A SAFE LODGING AND A HOLY REST

AND PEACE AT THE LAST

Outlined in gilt metal against the white Carrara marble wall above the memorial the 

shoulder insignia of the major military units again appear; here they are of colored 

mosaic set in the Portland Whitbed stone and grouped around a classic helmet. Beneath 

them is the inscription:

TO THE SILENT HOST

WHO ENDURED ALL AND GAVE ALL

THAT MANKIND MIGHT LIVE

IN FREEDOM AND IN PEACE
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THE TABLETS OF THE MISSING

The names and particulars of 462 of our Missing are engraved in 12 large slabs of dark 

gray granite set slightly above the podium, 6 on each of the east and west sides of the 

memorial:

United States Army & Army Air Forces* 447

United States Navy 15

* It will be recalled that during World War II the Air Forces still formed part of the 

United States Army.

These men gave their lives in the service of their country, but their remains have 

not been recovered and identified. Their names include men from 45 different States as 

well as the District of Columbia. Above these names this inscription is engraved upon 

the sides of the memorial:

HERE ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF AMERICANS

WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY

AND WHO SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES

* *

1941-1945.
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On the east side, this is added:

IN PROUD REMEMBRANCE OF THEIR VALOR

On the west side, this is added:

IN HUMBLE TRIBUTE TO THEIR SACRIFICE

Without confirmed information to the contrary, a War Department Administrative 

review Board established the official date of death of those commemorated on the Tablets 

of the Missing as one year and a day from the date on which the individual was placed in 

Missing in action status.

The memorial podium is flanked by masses of rhododendrons bordered by dwarf 

roses and boxwood edging, and backed by dipped purple beech (Fagus Sylvatica 

Purpureal) hedges.

THE GRAVES AREA 

From the base of the memorial podium a flight of broad steps leads down to the graves 

area. Here are buried 5,328 of our military Dead; three-fifths of whom were airmen.

These Dead, who gave their lives in our country’s service, came from almost every 

State in the Union as well as from the District of Columbia, Canada, Denmark, England, 

France, Germany, Ireland, Philippine Islands, and the British West Indies. Seven 

hundred seventy-seven of the headstones mark the graves of 792 “Unknowns.” Among 

the headstones also are those of 11 instances in which 2 brothers are buried side by side. 

There are also three cases in which two identified airmen are buried in single graves; the 

headstones in these cases are inscribed: HERE REST IN HONORED GLORY TWO 

COMRADES IN ARMS. Bronzed plaques bearing their names and particulars are set in 

the ground before the headstones.

The reentrants of the huge cross-formed by the headstone pattern are planted with 

group of oak, beech, hornbeam and tulip trees, intended to extend the natural woodland 

enframement, and the entire burial area is surrounded on four sides by wide borders of 

shrub roses (Rosa Rugosa).

At the east end of the central transverse path is a bronze figure symbolizing 

American youth, designed by C. Paul Jennewein and cast by Bruno Bearzi of Florence, 

Italy.

The burial area and its axial path gently slope down to the flagstaff and its platform 

at the north end of the cemetery. Groups of spruce (Ticea Exelia) and caucasian fir

(Abies Nordmanniana) form the background for this feature. A transverse path leads 

westward to the linden avenue which intersects the path at the head of the burial area.

Construction of the cemetery and memorial was completed in 1962.