American War Memorials Overseas

American War Memorials Overseas

File:Americanwarmewmrev.tif American War Memorials Overseas Logo
Founded	July 2008
Founder	Lillian A. Pfluke
Type	501 (c) (3) corporation
Location	Wilmington, Delaware Paris, France
Revenue	Individual contributions, corporate contributions, and private foundation grants
Website	U.S. War Memorials

American War Memorials Overseas (abbreviated as AWMO), founded in 2008, is a nonprofit corporation working to document, promote, and preserve non-government supported War Memorials honoring Americans outside of the United States. American War Memorials Overseas is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit corporation and as such is entirely dependent on donated funds.

Mission

War Memorials commemorate our shared past, and overseas war memorials honoring Americans are a most important symbol of America's international engagement. "American War Memorials Overseas works to document, promote, and preserve non-government supported War Memorials honoring Americans outside of the USA to ensure these monuments remain part of local communities forever." The AWMO cooperates with other organizations, at international, national, and local levels, to safeguard the future of War Memorials honoring Americans overseas in both their social and historical context.

The U.S. Federal government, via the American Battle Monuments Commission, cares for 24 overseas cemeteries and 25 memorials. They have neither the authority nor the resources to care for thousands of other sites honoring Americans worldwide.

American War Memorials Overseas has the following objectives regarding these other sites:

• Record the existence and location of non-government supported war memorials honoring Americans overseas and make this information available to the public.
• Encourage cultural tourism to visit these historical sites.
• Encourage and facilitate local communities to fly the American flag over private war memorials honoring Americans.
• Monitor the condition of these war memorials, and encourage their conservation.
• Provide expert advice to those involved in war memorial projects, and facilitate maintenance projects for sponsoring organizations.
• Work with communities and organizations to encourage local responsibility for war memorials, and to recognize the need to conduct restoration work on these monuments as required.
• Build a greater understanding of war memorial heritage and raise awareness of the issues surrounding war memorial conservation.

These objectives are taken directly from the American War Memorials Overseas website.

Documentation

Thousands of American war memorials exist throughout the world. "An American war memorial overseas is any permanent object put in place in an overseas location to commemorate Americans involved in or affected by a conflict or war in that area. These war memorials can be put in place by military units or veterans organizations to remember their fallen compatriots. They can be erected by family members to commemorate their loved ones or mark the spot where they fell. They can be installed by local organizations to recall the historical events in the area or as appreciation to their liberators. They can be constructed by the host nation as an official appreciation of the contributions of the United States of American and her citizens."

"In most cases, neither the United States government nor local governments have the responsibility or the resources to document and maintain these sites." Many of these have been forgotten over time and their existence lost in the memory of former generations. The AWMO has been documenting and compiling an online database to search for such memorials. These include: isolated burial sites of American combatants, combat vehicles, monuments, markers and plaques, commemorative objects, and museums.

Isolated Burials

Over one thousand American War Dead lie in churchyards, foreign cemeteries, or in the fields where they fell in overseas locations throughout the world. Often these gravesites are unmaintained and undocumented. The AWMO works to locate, document, and preserve these scattered burials.

Combat Vehicles

American combat vehicles are on display in many places where American forces have fought overseas. These old tanks, airplanes, half-tracks, and trucks commemorate the achievements and sacrifice of the Americans who fought in the area, and serve as a visible reminder of the conflict. The AWMO works to create the only complete listing of these overseas combat vehicle displays.

Monuments

From the beaches of Normandy across Europe to Armenia, from the DMZ in Korea across the Pacific to Australia, at almost every location where Americans have fought overseas, in addition to the 25 Federal monuments, many non-Federal monuments commemorate their sacrifice. These sites are often little-known and poorly maintained. The AWMO works to document and publicize their existence and insure that these sites are protected and conserved.

Markers and Plaques

There are simple markers and plaques which document the location of specific American actions on every European battlefield. These locations include the limits of advance of American combat divisions, the crash site where an American aircraft went down, or the exact location where an American service member was killed. The AWMO works to identify, document, and preserve these markers and plaques.

Commemorative Objects

Oftentimes individuals or organizations who wanted to put in place a memorial chose to install a useful object to help in the reconstruction of the area, while at the same time commemorating the sacrifice of courageous Americans. These commemorative objects include bridges, fountains, buildings, benches, stained glass windows, church bells, churches, and community centers. The AWMO documents and promotes these sites, and works with local organizations to insure their preservation.

Museums

Hundreds of public and private museums dot the battlefields where Americans fought overseas and are full of artifacts that tell the story of their glorious contributions. The AWMO works to document and publicize the location and collection of these various museums.

Preservation Work

The American War Memorials Overseas lasting goal is not only to have documented all war memorials that honor Americans in countries outside the United States, but most importantly, to preserve those memorials so that they will last forever. The AWMO cooperates with other organizations, at international, national, and local levels, to fix memorials that are in disrepair and to safeguard the future of such memorials.

File:2-su-2 fontainbleu.jpg The Patton River Crossing monument, by Fontainebleu, France, in need of repair.

File:2-su-3 fontainbleu.JPG The Patton River Crossing monument beautifully restored.

File:Meaux1-am-14a.jpg The Friends of France Monument in Meaux covered in graffiti.

File:Meaux1-am-14b.jpg The Friends of France Monument in Meaux cleaned and restored.

File:Lt rusel courville1.jpg The Lt. Henry Russel monument in Courville with significant damage.

File:Lt rusel courville2.jpg The Lt. Henry Russel monument in Courville brought back to its original state.

Board of Directors

The non-profit works solely on the basis of volunteers.

• Founder: Lillian A. Pfluke
• Dr. Susan Kellett-Forsyth
• Peter F. Herrly
• Christine Murakami

See also

• American Battle Monuments Commission
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• Register of Culturally Significant Property

External links

• American War Memorials Overseas