sion attacking up the valley. By 28
August, the defile at Montelimar had
been seized, cutting off large num-
bers of the retreating enemy, and
Toulon and Marseille had been liber-
ated by French troops.

The advance of the U.S. VI Corps
continued without pause, while the
U.S. Twelfth Air Force harassed the
retreating enemy from the air. Lyon
was liberated on 3 September and by
7 September U.S. troops had reached
Besangon. On 11 September at Som-
bernon west of Dijon, U.S. Seventh
Army units met patrols from the U.S.
Third Army advancing from Nor-
mandy. In less than one month U.S.
forces had advanced 400 miles from
the beaches of southern France, iso-
lating all remaining units in south-
western France. Ten days later the
U.S. Seventh and Third Armies
joined in strength near Epinal and
established a solid line extending to
the Swiss frontier.

THE SITE

The site covers 12 acres near the east-
ern edge of the city of Draguignan, at
the foot of a hill clad with the charac-
teristic cypresses, olive trees and
oleanders of southern France. Across
the street opposite the cemetery are
schools and playgrounds. Just west
of the cemetery is the civilian ceme-
tery of the city of Draguignan.

The first U.S. troops to enter Drag-
uignan were elements of the 1st Air-
borne Task Force, on the night of 16
August 1944, They were joined by
units of the U.S. 36th Division on the
next day. Rhéne American Cemetery
was first established on 19 August
1944. Here are buried 861 of our mili-
tary Dead representing 39 per cent of
the burials which were originally
made in this region; most of these
men died during the operations
incident to the landings on the
southern coast on 15 August 1944 and

Fountain, Memorial Garden

th)

Memorial Interior

the advance northward. The official
name of the cemetery is derived from
the Rhéne River whose watershed.
was the scene of these operations.
Construction of the cemetery and
memorial was completed in 1956.

ARCHITECTS

Architect for the cemetery and
memorial was Henry J. Toombs of
Atlanta, Georgia. The Landscape
Architect was A. F. Brinckerhoff of
New York.

GENERAL LAYOUT

The main entrance to the cemetery is
on the north side of Boulevard Ken-
nedy. Immediately to the right of the
entrance gate is the Visitors’ Building
— to the east (right) of it is the park-
ing area. Beyond the gate is the
graves area within an oval wall built
of local limestone with a coping of
Ampilly limestone from central
France. To the north, beyond the

graves area, is the memorial. In the
northeast corner are the superinten-
dent's quarters as well as the utilities
area and the reservoirs and water
purification system. In the southeast
corner of the reservation is the deep
well to an underground stream from
which water is pumped to the reser-
voirs.

Outside the oval wall, masses of
shrubs backed by trees enclose the
cemetery.

MEMORIAL

To the right and left of the memorial
are the two flagstaffs 6642 feet high.
Between them is the bronze relief
map on which are portrayed the mili-
tary operations in the area beginning
with the landings on the beaches
south of Draguignan on 15 August
1944 followed by the advance up the
valley of the Rhéne.

The bronze relief map was fabri-
cated by Bruno Bearzi of Florence,

9


18

HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY

A COMRADE IN ARMS
KNOWN BUT TO GOD

Decorated Gravesite of a World War II “Unknown”

THE AMERICAN
BATTLE MONUMENTS
COMMISSION

ESTABLISHED BY CONGRESS MARCH 1923

UNITED STATES OFFICE

American Battle Monuments Commission
Court House Plaza II

Suite 500

2300 Clarendon Boulevard

Arlington, VA 22201

Telephone: (703) 696-6897

(703) 696-6896

FAX: (703) 696-6666

Web site: www.abme.gov

EUROPEAN OFFICE

Street Address:

68, rue du 19 Janvier

92380 - Garches, France
Mailing Address:

American Battle Monuments Commission
PSC 116

APO AE 09777

Telephone: (011-33) 1-4701-1976
(from U.S. & other countries)
33-0-1-4701-1976

(within France)

Fax: (011-33) 1-4741-1979

MEDITERRANEAN OFFICE

Street Address:

American Battle Monuments Commission
c/o U.S. Embassy

Via Sallustiana 49

00187 Rome, Italy

Mailing Address:

American Battle Monuments Commission
Unit 9500, Box 11

DPO AE 09624-0011

Telephone: (011-39) 06-4674-3084

Fax: (011-39) 06-487-1624

PHILIPPINE OFFICE

Street Address:
Manila American Cemetery
and Memorial

McKinley Road, Global City
Taguig, Philippines

Mailing Address:

Manila American Cemetery
PSC 513, Box 5

DPO AP 96515-1800
Telephone: (011-632) 844-0212
FAX: (011-632) 812-4717

19


12

Graves Area with Memorial in Background

The actual carving of the sculpture
was by Georges Granger of Chalon-
sur-Saéne.

THE CHAPEL

The chapel is entered from the terrace
through handsome bronze grilles on
the east or west sides. The memorial,
like the Wall of the Missing, is also
built of Rocheret limestone from the
Jura region.

Much of the interior of the chapel
is decorated with mosaics designed
by, and fabricated and installed
under the supervision of, Austin
Purves of Litchfield, Connecticut.
The mosaic mural in the apse was
conceived by the artist to recall the
eternal care of the Almighty, under-
standing and transcending the per-
sonal grief of bereavement, and en-
couraging new hope for this and for
future generations. The grief-
stricken pair beneath the willow tree

East Garden Wall

symbolize the mourning relatives of
the dead, but apparently sleeping,
youth held by the mystical figure of
goodness and strength — the type of
uniform, helmet and rifle charac-
terize him as an American.

The figure of Saint Louis of France,
on the right, standing on the walls of
the city of Aigues-Mortes recalls an
earlier crusader who set sail, as sym-
bolized by the ship (now part of the
arms of the City of Paris), from a port
in this region. Behind him is the
Sainte Chapelle built in Paris to en-
shrine the relics of his crusade. The
French inscription beneath is as-
cribed to Saint Louis — “My faithful
friends,” he said — ‘we shall be
unconquerable if we remain united
in charity.” (The French text was
found in an ancient record.)

It will be recalled that the Ameri-
can crusade was symbolized by the
crusader’s sword which appeared in
the emblem of Supreme Headquar-
ters, Allied Expeditionary Force.

13


Wall of the Missing

Italy, from data furnished by the
American Battle Monuments Com-
mission. At the near end of the map
is a brief description in English and
French of the military operations; the
English version follows:

ON 15 AUGUST 1944 THE ALLIED FORCES
LAUNCHED THEIR CAMPAIGN TO ASSIST
THE NORMANDY OPERATION AND LIB-
ERATE SOUTHERN FRANCE. THE PRE-
PARATORY AIR BOMBARDMENT HAD
BEGUN IN JULY AND HAD GROWN
STEADILY IN INTENSITY. AS THE
ASSAULT CONVOYS ASSEMBLED, THE
U. S. TWELFTH AND FIFTEENTH AIR
FORCES STRUCK AT THE BEACH DE-
FENSES, AS WELL AS AT THE BRIDGES
ASTRIDE THE RHONE TO ISOLATE THE
BATTLE AREA.

ON THE EVE OF THE ATTACK SPE-
CIALLY TRAINED ASSAULT UNITS
LANDED TO PROTECT THE FLANKS OF
THE INVASION BEACHES. BEFORE DAWN,
AIRBORNE TROOPS DROPPED NEAR LE
MUY TO SEIZE HIGHWAY JUNCTIONS
NECESSARY TO ASSURE THE ALLIED

10

ADVANCE. AT 0800 THE U. S. VI CORPS
MOVED ASHORE UNDER COVER OF
BOMBARDMENT BY THE WESTERN
NAVAL TASK FORCE. BREAKING
THROUGH STEEL AND CONCRETE FOR-
TIFICATIONS THE U.S. 3D, 36TH AND
45TH DIVISIONS PUSHED RAPIDLY
INLAND.

IN A TWO-PRONGED ADVANCE THE
U.S. SEVENTH ARMY LIBERATED GRE-
NOBLE AND WITHIN TEN DAYS WAS EN-
‘VELOPING MONTELIMAR TO TRAP THE
ENEMY. MEANWHILE FRENCH UNITS
HAD LANDED AND THRUST WESTWARD
TO TOULON AND MARSEILLE. BY THE
END OF THE MONTH THE ALLIED
GROUND TROOPS WERE APPROACHING
LYON PRECEDED BY THE U. S. TWELFTH
AIR FORCE WHOSE ATTACKS DISOR-
GANIZED THE FLEEING ENEMY. BY 7 SEP-
TEMBER U.S. FORCES HAD REACHED
BESANCON AND WERE MOVING ON
BELFORT AND EPINAL. FOUR DAYS

LATER THE ALLIED FORCES FROM NOR-
MANDY AND SOUTHERN FRANCE

JOINED HANDS AT SOMBERNON, THUS
ISOLATING ALL GERMAN UNITS RE-

Mosaic, Great Seal of the United States

MAINING IN SOUTHWEST FRANCE. THE
ALLIES COULD NOW DEVOTE THEIR EF-
FORTS TO THE DEFEAT OF THE NAZIS IN
GERMANY ITSELF.

The relief map which is 20 feet
long and 11 feet wide is at a hori-
zontal scale of 1:100,000 (1.6 miles to
the inch); the vertical scale has been
exaggerated three times (2,750 feet
to the inch). It is set on a base of
Rocheret Clair limestone from the
Jura region of eastern France.

On each side of this relief map, on
Rocheret stone table tops between
the benches, are the two sets of key
maps: The War Against Germany
and The War Against Japan.

On the facade of the Memorial is
the heroic-size sculpture, designed
by Edmund Amateis of Brewster,
New York, of the Angel of Peace
nurturing the new generation. Be-
neath is the inscription:

WE WHO LIE HERE DIED THAT FUTURE
GENERATIONS MIGHT LIVE IN PEACE.

11


Exterior Visitors’ Building

various shrubs accentuate the inside
oval perimeter wall, while a great
variety of trees and shrubs soften the
wall’s exterior outline.

VISITORS’ BUILDING

Immediately to the right of the en-
trance gate is the Visitors’ Building.
The parking area is adjacent to the
building on the east (right) side.

It contains the Superintendent's
office, toilet facilities, and a comfort-

16

ably furnished room where visitors
may obtain information, sign the
register and pause to refresh them-
selves. During visiting hours a
member of the cemetery staff is
available in tle building to answer
questions and provide information
on burials and memorializations in
the Commission’s cemeteries, ac-
commodations in the vicinity, travel,
local history and other items of
interest.

SERVICES TO THE PUBLIC

Upon request, and without cost, the

following information and services

are provided to family members

and friends of those interred or com-

memorated at ABMC’s cemeteries

and memorials:

¢ name, location and general infor-
mation about the cemetery, monu-
ment or memorial;

¢ plot, row and grave number and, if
applicable, memorialization site;

¢ authorization for issuance of fee-
free passports for members of the
immediate family traveling over-
seas specifically to visit an ABMC

grave or memorialization site;

¢a photograph of grave and/or
memorialization sites affixed to a
large color lithograph of the ap-
propriate cemetery and memorial;

¢ best route and modes of travel in-
country to cemetery or memorial
site;

¢ general information about accom-
modations in the vicinity of the
cemetery or memorial;

¢ arrangement for floral decoration
of a grave or memorialization
site. (Weather permitting, a color
photograph of the floral decora-
tion in place is provided to the
donor).

Corozal American Cemetery, Corozal, Republic of Panama

17


Rhane American Cemetery
and Memorial

Tha Amasinan Rattla Manumante Cammiccian


Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial, Seine, France


The bird in the shrub between the
headstones and the central figure
serves as a reminder that notwith-
standing the tragic upheavals of war,
nature continues its evolution un-
ceasingly.

On the left of the apse is this extract
from Cardinal Newman’s prayer:

O LORD SUPPORT US ALL THE DAY LONG
UNTIL OUR WORK IS DONE * THEN IN
THY MERCY GRANT US A HOLY REST AND
PEACE AT THE LAST.

The ceiling is in blue mosaic with ©

gold stars. The rear wall mosaic con-
tains an adaptation of the Great Seal
of the United States and this inscrip-
tion (with French translation):

THIS CHAPEL HAS BEEN ERECTED BY THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AS A
SACRED RENDEZVOUS OF A GRATEFUL
PEOPLE WITH ITS IMMORTAL DEAD.

The altar is of Vert des Alpes mar-
ble from the valley of Aoste (Val
d’Aoste) in the Italian Alps. A Latin
cross is engraved at one end; the
Tablets of Moses at the other. The
altar cloth is of Florentine leather, the
cross and candlesticks of polished
brass. The prie-dieu and the pew are
of teakwood. An American flag
hangs from the wall on either side of
the altar.

Engraved in the walls flanking the
apse is a list of the major units which
participated in the military opera-
tions in this region:

On the left side (facing the altar):
SOUTHERN FRANCE
1944

MAJOR ARMY
AND
AIR FORCE UNITS ENGAGED

UNITED STATES ARMY

SEVENTH ARMY, VI CORPS
3D INFANTRY DIVISION, 36TH INFANTRY
DIVISION, 45TH INFANTRY DIVISION, 1ST
AIRBORNE TASK FORCE, 1ST SPECIAL
SERVICE FORCE

TWELFTH AIR FORCE, FIFTEENTH AIR
FORCE, XII TACTICAL AIR COMMAND,

14

PROVISIONAL TROOP CARRIER AIR DIVI-
SION

ARMEE FRANCAISE

ARMEE B, 1°, 2° CORPS D’ARMEE

1" DIVISION FRANCAISE LIBRE, 2° DIVI-
SION D’INF MAROCAINE, 3° DIVISION
D'INF ALGERIENNE, 9° DIVISION D’INF
COLONIALE, 1" DIVISION BLINDEE, 1"
BRIGADE DE SPAHIS, 1*, 2°, 3° GROUPE-
MENTS DE TABORS MAROCAINS, 1*, 2°, 3°
GROUPEMENTS DE CHOC

UNITES AERIENNES
FORCES FRANCAISES DE L'INTERIEUR

BRITISH ARMY
2 INDEPENDENT PARACHUTE BRIGADE

ROYAL AIR FORCE
202 GROUP (FIGHTER)

On the right side (facing the altar):
SOUTHERN FRANCE
1944
MAJOR NAVAL UNITS ENGAGED
WESTERN NAVAL TASK FORCE
UNITED STATES NAVY

515 SHIPS AND CRAFT
INCLUDING
BATTLESHIPS: ARKANSAS, NEVADA,
TEXAS. HEAVY CRUISERS: AUGUSTA,
QUINCY, TUSCALOOSA. LIGHT CRUIS-
ERS: BROOKLYN, CINCINNATI, MARBLE-
HEAD, OMAHA, PHILADELPHIA. ESCORT

CARRIERS: KASAAN BAY, TULAGI

ROYAL NAVY

283 SHIPS AND CRAFT
INCLUDING
1 BATTLESHIP, 10 LIGHT CRUISERS
AND
7 ESCORT CARRIERS

MARINE DE GUERRE FRANCAISE

12 SHIPS AND CRAFT
INCLUDING
1 BATTLESHIP AND 5 LIGHT CRUISERS

ROYAL HELLENIC NAVY
7 SHIPS AND CRAFT

ALLIED MERCHANT VESSELS
63 SHIPS AND CRAFT

At each end of the terrace outside
the chapel is a fountain of red granite
(Granit de la Clarté) from Brittany,
and a pool. Behind the Memorial the
hill rises steeply.

THE WALL OF THE MISSING

On the face of the retaining wall of
the terrace of the Memorial are in-
scribed the names and particulars of
294 of our Missing:

United States Army and Army
Air Forces? . - 257
United States Navy 37

These men gave their lives in the ser-
vice of their Country but their re-
mains have not been identified. The
lists include men from every State in
the Union except Arizona, Delaware,
Nebraska, New Hampshire, North
Dakota, Rhode Island, and Wyo-
ming. Heading these lists is the in-
scription:

yer 1941 sexx 1945 sexx HERE ARE RE-
CORDED THE NAMES OF AMERICANS
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE SERVICE
OF THEIR COUNTRY AND WHO SLEEP IN
UNKNOWN GRAVES.

Without confirmed information to
the contrary, a War Department Ad-
ministrative Review Board estab-
lished 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 individ-
ual was placed in Missing in action
status.

GRAVES AREA

The graves area is divided into four
plots about the oval pool which is set
at the intersection of the axes of the
cemetery. The 861 headstones are

1 It will be recalled that during World War II
the Air Forces still formed part of the United
States Army.

arranged in straight lines; planted
among them are olive trees which
lend an unforgettable peacefulness to
the scene.

The Dead who gave their lives in
our Country’s service came from
every State in the Union except
North Dakota; some came from the
District of Columbia and Puerto
Rico. Sixty-two of the headstones
mark the graves of “Unknowns.”
Here, also, side by side in two in-
stances, are the graves of two
brothers.

THE GARDENS

Outside of the oval wall and on the
transverse axis of the cemetery are
the East and West Gardens. The East
Garden is an intimate enclosure with
a small circular pool which has a
background of tall Italian cypress. It
is surrounded with beds of broad-
leaved evergreens, including olean-
der and crepe myrtle, as well as sea-
sonal plants to provide color in the
summer.

The West Garden is somewhat
smaller; its pool is octagonal in form,
and is set in a brick pavement in con-
trast to the green lawn of the East
Garden. It is enclosed by a high
sheared hedge of Arizona cypress
and planted with a few of the sum-
mer-flowering shrubs of the region.

PLANTINGS

The long terrace outside the Chapel
is lined with a double row of closely
planted Italian cypress which forms a
green curtain behind the Chapel and
across the ends of the terrace. The
areas at the two sides, enclosed with
low formal hedges, are planted with
redbud trees (cercis canadensis) and
strawberry trees (arbutus unedo).
The entire grave plots area is
framed by a row of hackberry (Celtis
Australis) trees behind which plant-
ings of oleander, crepe myrtle and

15


Graves Area with Memorial in Background

Bronze Relief Map — Operations in Southem France

two months, preventing their de-
ployment against Allied troops in
Normandy.

Beginning in mid-June 1944, U.S.
and French divisions were succes-
sively pulled from the lines in Italy, in
preparation for the southern France
landings. Air bombardment aimed
at disrupting vital communications
and installations in southern France
commenced in July and increased in
intensity. As the convoys assembled
to bring the preponderance of the as-
sault troops from Italy, and others
from as far away as Algiers, the
Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces
struck at enemy beach defenses, and
the bridges across the Rhéne River in
an effort to isolate the battle area.

During the night of 14 August,
specially trained assault units landed
to protect the flanks of the invasion
areas. Then, shortly before dawn,
U.S. and British troops of the 1st Air-
borne Task Force dropped near Le

Muy to seize vital highway junc-
tions.

At 0800 hours on 15 August 1944,
under the cover of heavy naval bom-
bardment by the Western Naval Task
Force, the 3d, 36th and 45th Divi-
sions of the U.S. VI Corps stormed
ashore from St. Tropaz to St.
Raphaél. Breaking through the steel

, and concrete fortifications, they ad-

vanced inland so rapidly that they
were able to establish contact with
the airborne units by nightfall. On
the following day, as the U.S. troops
pursued the retreating enemy,
French divisions landed and began
moving westward toward the ports
of Toulon and Marseille.

The 3d Division on the left flank
drove directly up the Rhéne Valley,
as the other VI Corps units of the U.S.
Seventh Army advanced northward.
Within ten days, Grenoble was liber-
ated and a U.S. task force was mov-
ing westward to meet the 3d Divi-


West Memorial Garden with View of Graves Area

RHONE AMERICAN CEMETERY

MEMORIAL

Location of Cemetery Features

Hotel accommodations are avail-
able in Draguignan and at St.
Raphaél, Cannes and other towns
along the Riviera.

HOURS

The cemetery is open daily to the
public between the hours of 9:00 a.m.
and 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.)

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

As early as August 1943, when the
campaign to seize the island of Sicily

was coming to a victorious close, a
landing in southern France was
under active consideration by Allied
war planners. They believed an am-
phibious assault in southern France
essential, not only to relieve some of
the pressure on the troops making
the principal amphibious assault at
Normandy, but to seize the major
port of Marseille.

As planning for Normandy pro-
gressed, the desirability of launching
both attacks simultaneously became
apparent. When it was determined
that despite the best efforts of Ameri-
can industry enough landing craft
could not be produced to make both
amphibious landings at the same
time, the decision was made to
undertake the southern France land-
ings as soon as possible after the
Normandy landings, utilizing many
of the same ships and craft. Mean-
while the threat of such landings
immobilized substantial enemy
forces in the south of France for over

5


Chapel Interior

Rhone
American
Cemetery

and
Memorial

LOCATION

Rhéne American Cemetery and
Memorial are situated in the city of
Draguignan (Var), France, 28 miles in
an air line west of Cannes and 16
miles inland from the seacoast.
Draguignan may be reached from
Paris-Marseille-St. Raphaél-Nice by
Autoroute A6/A7/A8 (toll highway)
by taking the Le Muy exit onto high-
way N-555 to Draguignan. From
Cannes the cemetery may be reached

Entrance Gate

via Grasse on highway N--85 (Cannes
to Grasse) and then highway N-562
to the cemetery or highway N-7 via
Frejus and Le Muy or Les Arcs to the
city of Draguignan as shown on the
map insert.

Draguignan may also be reached
by the rail line from Cannes-Nice
exiting the train at Les Arcs, a stop on.
the main rail line from Paris to Nice.
There is bus service from Les Arcs to
Draguignan or taxi cabs may be hired
to reach the cemetery.