Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial

Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial
American Battle Monuments Commission
The chapel at Flanders Field.
Used for those deceased 1917–1918
Established	1918
Location	near  Waregem, Belgium
Designed by	Paul Philippe Cret of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Jacques Greber of Paris, France (landscaping)
Total burials	368
Unknowns	43
Statistics source: ABMC Flanders Field website

Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial is a World War I cemetery on the southeast edge of the town of Waregem, Belgium. The memorial was designed by architect Paul Cret. This is the only American World War I cemetery in Belgium and 411 American servicemen are buried or commemorated there. Many of them fell at Spitaals Bosschen, an action of the Ypres-Lys Campaign by the 91st Infantry Division in the closing days of World War I.

This cemetery is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and occupies a six acre (24,000 m²) site. As with all Allied war cemeteries, the land was provided in perpetuity by the Belgian government. The headstones are aligned in four symmetrical areas around the white stone chapel that stands in the center of the cemetery. The side walls of the chapel are inscribed with the names of 43 missing American servicemen who have no known graves. It is open daily from 09:00 to 17:00 except 25 December and 1 January. The ABMC also administers two American cemeteries in Belgium for World War II casualties: Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial; and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial.

The Flanders Field cemetery is in the area known as Flanders Fields, where fierce fighting took place throughout the war on the Western Front. Canadian war poet Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae wrote the poem In Flanders Fields on 3 May 1915, after witnessing the death of his friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, the day before.

Charles Lindbergh flew over the Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial on 30 May 1927, just nine days after his historic May 20–21 trans-Atlantic crossing.

American president Barack Obama visited the cemetery during his stay in Belgium on March 26, 2014, where he, Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, and King Philippe laid wreaths at the white stone monument.

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  Flanders Field American Cemetery entrance
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  In Memory
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  American and Belgian flags mark the grave of "an American soldier known but to God."

References

• Sledge, Michael (2005). Soldier Dead: How We Recover, Identify, Bury, and Honor Our Military Fallen. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 204. ISBN 9780231509374. OCLC 60527603.
• American Battle Monuments Commission site

External links

• Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial at Find a Grave