Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial The Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial is home to the graves of 5 , 329 members of the United States military who died in World War II . It is one of fourteen cemeteries for American World War II dead on foreign soil , and is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission . The ninety and a half acre cemetery and memorial is located in Neuville - en - Condroz , near the southeast edge of Neupré , Wallonia , Belgium . It is one of three American war cemeteries in Belgium , the other two being at Flanders Field and Henri - Chapelle . Layout and memorial . The Ardennes American Cemetery is generally rectangular in shape . Its grave plots are arranged in the form of a Greek cross separated by two broad intersecting paths . At the east end of the traverse path is a bronze figure symbolizing American youth , designed by sculptor C . Paul Jennewein . The cemetery is surrounded on all sides by stands of trees . An approach drive leads to the memorial , a rectangular structure bearing on its south facade a massive American eagle with three figures symbolizing Justice , Liberty , and Truth and thirteen stars representing the United States . This facade was designed by C . Paul Jennewein . The facade on the far ( north ) end , which overlooks the burial area , bears the insignia in mosaic of the major United States units which operated in northwest Europe in World War II . Along the outside of the memorial are the " Tablets of the Missing " , granite slabs on which are inscribed the names of 462 American missing ( 15 Navy and 447 Army and Army Air Forces ) who gave their lives in the service of their country , but whose remains were never recovered or identified . Within the memorial are a chapel , three large wall maps composed of inlaid marble , marble panels depicting combat and supply activities and other ornamental features . History . The site of the cemetery was liberated from Nazi control by the U . S . 1st Infantry Division on 8 September 1944 . A temporary cemetery was established on the site on 8 February 1945 . After the war , the Ardennes site was designated a permanent cemetery , becoming one of fourteen permanent cemeteries for American World War II dead on foreign soil . All temporary cemeteries were disestablished by the U . S . Army , and the bodies of those whose next of kin requested permanent interment overseas were moved to one of the fourteen permanent cemeteries . The American Battle Monuments Commission ( ABMC ) oversaw the design and construction of the site . Architects Reinhard , Hofmeister & Walquist of New York City were hired to design the cemetery and memorial , while the landscaping was designed by Richard K . Webel of Roslyn , New York . Construction of the cemetery and memorial was completed in 1962 . The Ardennes American Cemetery served as the location of the Central Identification Point for the Graves Registration Service ( now known as Mortuary Affairs ) of the Army Quartermaster Corps during much of the life of the Service . The Graves Registration Service interred the dead at the Ardennes cemetery in the distinctive grave pattern proposed by the architect and approved by the ABMC . When the interment program was completed the cemetery was turned over to the ABMC for maintenance and administration . Interments . Many of the 5 , 329 people interred at the Ardennes American Cemetery died during Nazi Germany ' s final major offensive in the west , the Battle of the Bulge . They include some service troops who were fighting as infantry . Others died in the advance to the Rhine and across Germany , and in the strategic bombardment of Europe . Three - fifths of those buried in the cemetery were airmen . The dead came from almost every state in the Union as well as from Washington , D . C . , Canada , Denmark , England , France , Germany , Ireland , the Philippines , and the British West Indies . Seven hundred seventy - seven of the headstones mark the graves of 792 unidentified bodies . Among the headstones are eleven instances in which two brothers are buried side by side . There are also three cases in which two identified airmen are buried in single graves . Buried in the cemetery are two Medal of Honor recipients : Technical Sergeant Charles F . Carey , Jr . , and Major John L . Jerstad . Their graves are marked by special headstones with gold lettering . A third Medal of Honor recipient , Captain Darrell R . Lindsey , is listed on the Tablets of the Missing . Also buried at Ardennes is Bert Stiles , a fighter pilot who wrote a posthumously - published memoir of his aerial combat experiences . The cemetery is closed to future interments , with exceptions made for recently recovered remains of American World War II dead . In 1992 , the remains of American war dead were discovered in a forest east of Elsenborn , Belgium . Through DNA testing , one set of remains was identified as Sgt . John T . Puckett of Wichita , Kansas , who had been listed as Missing in Action during the Battle of the Bulge . Puckett ' s family requested he be interred in the Ardennes cemetery ; his burial there took place on 18 June 2005 .