Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial: Difference between revisions
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== Plot E == |
== Plot E == |
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The [[US Army]] executed a total of 98 servicemen following General Courts Martial (GCM) for [[murder]] or [[rape]], or both, in the European Theatre of Operations during the [[Second World War]]. The remains of these servicemen were originally buried near the site of their executions, which took place in countries as far apart as [[England]], [[France]], [[Italy]], and [[Tunisia]]. In 1949 the remains of these men were re-interred in Plot E in a private section specifically built to hold what the Graves Registration referred to as "[[List of Burials at Oise-Aisne American Cemetery Plot E|the dishonorable dead]]", since (per standard practice) all had been officially [[Dishonorably_discharged#Dishonorable|Dishonorably Discharged]] from the US Army just prior to their executions. |
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{{Main|List of Burials at Oise-Aisne American Cemetery Plot E}} |
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The section is located in a 100 x 50 feet oval clearing surrounded by hedges and hidden in thick forest, accessible only through the back door of the superintendent's office.<ref>http://binged.it/KmEdbX</ref> It is maintained and groomed by cemetery caretakers, though it is hidden from view and kept far separate from the nearby four plots for the honored dead of World War I. One cemetery employee described Plot E as "a house of shame" and "a perfect anti-memorial".<ref name=interpreter>Kaplan, Alice. ''The Interpreter''. Free Press: New York, 2005. 172-3.</ref> Unlike the marble monuments and inscribed standing headstones of the regular plots, Plot E contains nothing but 96 flat stone markers (arranged in 4 rows) and a single small granite cross. The markers are the size of [[index card]]s and have nothing on them except sequential grave numbers engraved in black. No US flag is permitted to fly over the section, and the numbered graves literally lie with their backs turned to the hallowed ground of the main cemetery across the street. Visitors are not encouraged, and its existence is not mentioned on the cemetery website or guide pamphlets.<ref name=slovik>Huie, William Bradford. ''The Execution of Private Slovik.'' Westholme: Yardley, 1954. 4-7.</ref> The only individual buried there who had not been convicted of rape or murder was [[Eddie Slovik]], who was executed for desertion. President Reagan permitted his body to be returned to the United States in 1987. |
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The cemetery also contains a private plot known as Plot E, which houses the remains of the "dishonorable dead"--over ninety American servicemembers who were executed, mostly for rape and murder. Plot E is separate from the main cemetery, in an area secluded by hedges and accessible only through a door in the superintendent's office. The graves are marked with a small placard containing only a serial number. |
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Revision as of 17:53, 5 February 2013
| Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial | |
|---|---|
| Battle Monuments Commission | |
 Oise-Aisne | |
| Used for those deceased World War I | |
| Established | 1918. (Concentration cemetery 1921) |
| Location | 49°12′8″N 3°32′54″E / 49.20222°N 3.54833°E near |
| Designed by | Cram & Ferguson, Boston, Ma. George Gibbs, Jr. (LANDSCAPE) |
| Total burials | 6012 |
Unknowns | 597 |
| Commemorated | 241 |
| Statistics source: Cemetery booklet | |
The Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial is an American military cemetery in northern France. Plots A through D contains the graves of 6,012 American soldiers who died while fighting in this vicinity during World War I, 597 of which were not identified, as well as a monument for 241 Americans who were missing in action during battles in the same area and whose remains were never recovered. Included among the soldiers here who lost their lives is poet Joyce Kilmer.
A graveyard for former soldiers that were dishonorably discharged and executed for crimes committed during World War II, referred to as Plot E, is nearby. Private Eddie Slovik, the only American soldier executed for desertion during World War II, was buried there until 1987.
Site
The Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial lies one and a half miles east of Fère-en-Tardenois, Aisne, Picardy, France and about 14 miles (23 km) northeast of Château-Thierry. It is approximately 70 miles (110 km) northeast of Paris.
The grounds extend to 36.5 acres (14.8 ha) and this is the second of eight large permanent American World War I military cemeteries that are not in the United States. It was initially established on August 2, 1918 by the 42nd Division as a temporary cemetery, but was retained as a permanent cemetery by Congress in 1921. The French government provides the site at no cost for use as a military cemetery.[1] The memorials were designed by Cram and Ferguson and the landscape architect was George Gibbs, Jr.
The cemetery is generally rectangular in shape. The chapel, museum and grave plots are one side of the road and a parking area and the service facilities on the other side. The plots are divided by a walkway with a circular island of grass in the middle. The sides of the cemetery include paths, a privet hedge, and a low stone wall.
War dead buried at this site
Most of the 6,012 soldiers and support personnel honorably interred at this site died fighting during the Second Battle of the Marne and the Oise-Aisne campaign. The site also includes American servicemen who were buried in temporary cemeteries and were moved to this site when their families requested that they be buried overseas. All forty-eight of the states that existed at the time, as well as the District of Columbia, are represented. Stars of David mark graves of Jewish soldiers, all others have a Latin Cross. The headstones are made from white marble quarried in Carrara, Italy.
597 graves at this site are for unknown soldiers. Like the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington, Virginia, the graves are marked:
HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD[1]
The memorial
At the far end of the cemetery there is a semi-circular memorial of marble and granite in a Romanesque style. A small chapel is to the memorial's right, and a one-room museum to the left. There are ten double columns that include the Division numbers of American soldiers who fought in this sector, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 26th, 28th, 32nd, 42nd, 77th, and 93rd. The sides of the columns are engraved with images of contemporary equipment such as gas masks and artillery shells. The columns are separated by four statues: two of soldiers, one of St. Michael and one of St. George. There is an inscription on the monument:
THESE ENDURED ALL AND GAVE ALL THAT HONOR AND JUSTICE MIGHT PREVAIL AND THAT THE WORLD MIGHT ENJOY FREEDOM AND INHERIT PEACE[1]
The rear of the monument identifies the American Battle Monuments Commission and the architects. On the friese and the exterior walls of the chapel and museum are twenty-three carved shields representing the branch and service insignia that served in this region of France, and the museum and chapel both include stylized versions of the Great Seal of the United States.
The names of 241 American soldiers missing in the area who were never found or whose bodies were never identified are inscribed on the walls of the chapel. The museum includes a dedicatory relief in English and French as well as a large map of the Aisne-Marne region.
Plot E
The cemetery also contains a private plot known as Plot E, which houses the remains of the "dishonorable dead"--over ninety American servicemembers who were executed, mostly for rape and murder. Plot E is separate from the main cemetery, in an area secluded by hedges and accessible only through a door in the superintendent's office. The graves are marked with a small placard containing only a serial number.
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The Memorial. -
Entrance of Oise-Aisne Cemetery. -
Main alley. -
Plot "E", Oise-Aisne American Cemetery.
See also
- A List of US Service Personnel Executed During World War II
- A List of Burials at Plot E of the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial
References
- ^ a b c "Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial" (pdf). American Battle Monuments Commission. Retrieved 2009-10-20.