The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1934-11-02
Prepared by National Geographic Society.
Washington. D. C-WNU Service.

| Washington. D. C-wNU Service.
Y" nth the approach of ARMS
| N tice day the patriotic Ameri-
wv cans thoughts turn back to
that day in 1913, when the
World war ceased, and to the men who
| gave up life for world peace.
Today 30,SS0 heroes sleep in beau
tiful cemeteries in the shadows Of
handsome memorials near the scenes Of
their war engagements.
In order that the gallant achieve
ments and noble sacrifices of American
troops might be suitably commemorate
ed, the American Battle Monuments
commission was created by an act of
congress approved March 4, 1928. Gen.
John J. Pershing is its chairman.
Eight memorial chapels, Of singular
beauty and dignity, now stand in the
| eight American military cemeteries in
France, Belgium and England. Eleven
monuments rise on the principal Amer
| fcan battlefelds and at certain chief
bases of our operations. Two of these,
| one at Rrest and the other at Gibral-
tar, have been built in tribute to the
achievements Of our navy's World war
| forces.
In size and design the battlefield
monuments range from the towering
| Doric shaft, topped by a statue, on
the dominating hill Of Montfaucon. to
the simple, effective monument near
the town Of Ypres, with It's low lines
blending with the plains of Belgium.
| The imposing monument on Hill 204,
near Chateau-Thierry; the majestic
circular colonnade on Mentsec, in the
MORALS in their size are proportionally
| representative of the strategical impor-
! lance and greatness Of the operations
| conducted in those areas by American
military forces.
On many of these monuments have
been inscribed the names of places
where the troops engaged in heavy
| fighting. Orientation tables assist the
! visitor in identifying these positions on
| the landscape, and maps engraved on
the walls indicate the progress of the
offensives, as well as the divisions
which took part. Decorative features
also show the Insignia of the divisions
and larger units, types of equipment
used by the American soldiers, and the
coats of arms ofathe United States and
| allied nations.
Beautiful chapeIs.
The chapels in the military GENE
teries likewise vary widely in design.
Each is a gem of architectural beauty
and an enduring shrine consecrated to
the memory of those who fell in battle.
| On their walls are carved the names
of the 1889 men whose final resting
| places are unknown and Of all those
whose marble headstones bear the in
scription, Here rests in honored glory
an American soldier known but to God"
This inscription, prepared by the COM
mission, was afterward engraved on
the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in
Arlington National cemetery.
| At each of the cemeteries beautiful
and comfortable reception rooms have
been established near to or in connec-
ton with the caretaker's offices for the
| convenience Of visitors and those de
! string information regarding the SOL
| der dead.
| All of the memorials were designed
by carefully selected American archi-
tects of note, whose work has more
than justified the confidence that the
| commission reposed In them. Each
memorial, too, was planned with full
| consideration of the inherent beauty
of the particular position it occupies.
| In every case infinite care has been
| exercised in the selection of the quail
| ity and In the utilization of the stone,
| marble, and other materials that have
| gone into their construction.
| The general locations of the major
battlefield memorials are enduring re-
minders of the three historic localities
| on the western front where American
| forces In large numbers engaged In
active combat. These are known as
the Aisne-Marne, the Meuse-Argonne,
and the st. Mihiel battlefields. Only
the last named of these areas was In
Lorraine, that part of eastern France
set aside in the summer of 1917 as the
concentration area for the American
army.
The British army had been estab-
lished In the northern part of the long
battle lines, near the Channel ports,
thus protecting its direct line of COM
munication with the British Isles. The
French army protected Paris, the most
vital locality In France.
| NaoLaaa - $h> D>~.,>
The American army was assembled
well to the east of Paris, where it could
be supplied by the railways leading
from the comparatively unused South
Atlantic ports of France, thus avoiding
the congested area around Paris.
Early in 1918, while the American
army was being built up in this Sec
| ton, the Germans commenced their
series Of major offensives. Available
American troops were Immediately
turned over to the allied commander
| In chief to use as he saw fit. To help
stop the enemy drive of May 81, which
started north of the Aisne river, Amer
lean divisions were hurried into line in
] the vicinity Of Chateau-Thierry. d.
/ rectly across the German line of adj
vance toward Paris.
Other American divisions took part
in the great counter-offensive which be-
| gan July Is, 1918, and within three
weeks had driven the enemy to the