9/12/24: Luxembourg's Sole US Military Cemetery

When Steven booked nonstop flights to Paris on Air France several months ago for the first leg of our Europe and North Africa trip, I was excited thinking the food (and the wine!) would be far superior to what we'd had on other international flights. Not so much, however, as both the mediocre dinner and the unappealing cold breakfast were subpar. The wine at least put me to sleep which is fine for a 9-hour flight!

After just catching our onward flight to Luxembourg City by the hair of our skinny chin chin because of a delay arriving at the gate in Paris, we picked up a rental car and made our way immediately to the US Military Cemetery in Hamm, just east of the airport. There, 5,075 war dead, including Third Army General George Patton, who was instrumental in liberating Luxembourg in 1944, were laid to rest. It was suitably overcast with showers threatening as we approached the entrance and noticed the white-stone chapel just beyond it. 

The Luxembourg American Cemetery, formerly a temporary cemetery administered by the US Army during WW2, opened just two weeks after the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. The permanent cemetery was dedicated on July 4th, 1960 to honor and remember the sacrifice and service of those lost during the war. 

Most of those who were laid to rest here died in the fighting north of the city and eastward toward the Rhine River during the winter of 1944 and the spring of 1945, or in air operations over both areas. The names of 371 Americans whose bodies were never recovered or identified were also inscribed. Following WW2, fourteen additional military cemeteries were set up overseas with each containing a non-sectarian memorial with a permanent graphic record of the US Armed Forces in that region. 

It was gratifying to learn that the cemetery is visited by locals as well as Americans to pay their respects to the service members buried there. A photo from the Visitors' Center showed General Dwight Eisenhower at the cemetery in 1947.

The land for the 50.5-acre cemetery was forever granted by the people of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Care for the cemetery and memorial is the responsibility of the American Battle Monuments Commission, an agency of the federal government. I learned that after WW1 the Commission built memorial chapels in each of the eight  American military cemeteries in Europe as well as eleven battlefield monuments.

As we walked around the chapel, we noticed that different emblems decorated the sides: the one facing the cemetery entrance had the US  seal ...

and the other had the seal of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. 

On the front of the 50ft.-tall chapel, a red granite angel was depicted granting a blessing and holding a laurel branch to represent peace.  

The ceiling's gold mosaic portrayed four angels supporting a white dove that represented the Holy Spirit in the Christian tradition and also a symbol of love, innocence, and peace in other religions and cultures.  

The narrow stained-glass window above the altar bore the insignia of the five major US Army commands that operated in Luxembourg during the war: 12th Army Group, 1st US Army, 3rd US Army, 8th Air Force, and 9th US Air Force.  

To more easily read the moving sentiments, click on either picture to make it bigger. 

Though we had no family members or friends to say goodbye to at the cemetery, we wanted to pay respect to the lost and honor those who served so valiantly. Each grave was marked with a white marble headstone inscribed with the soldier's name, army affiliation, date of death, and either a Star of David for those who followed the Jewish faith or a Latin cross for all others.

The graves in the WW1 and WW2 cemeteries in Europe account for about 39 percent of those originally buried. The remaining bodies were repatriated at the request of their next of kin. I wondered if many families chose to leave their loved ones where they served and died so they could forever be with their comrades in arms.

Though it would be easy to think of all the crosses or Stars of David as being the same, we had to bear in mind that each headstone told one person's story - a person who had hopes, dreams, and a family just like us. 

Seeing the long rows of white crosses and Stars of David was humbling.

At the front of the cemetery, between two American flags, General Patton's grave marked his passing on December 21st, 1945. 

I was moved by a sign that indicated as the seasons pass, the cemetery's trees and flowers provide a constant link to life amid the dead.

A rear view of Patton's grave overlooking his troops: 

I liked to think that the almost nonstop planes that flew overhead also paid homage to the brave US service members who gave their lives in a foreign land so others could live free. 

At 4:30, Steven and I were fortunate to be present for the playing of Taps at the chapel which signaled "lights out" at the end of a military day. I had thought and hoped the reverent music would be played by a bugler but there was only a recording. However, the lowering of the flags and their ritual folding was quite moving. 

A small village en route to the small town of Mondorf-les-Bains in the Moselle region in Luxembourg's far southeast corner:

Our hotel parking lot had several spots set aside for women drivers, something we'd never seen before! Whether that was because we were staying in a casino and it meant that women would be safe returning to their cars after a night playing the machines, I don't know.

Photos as walked around the small town that night:

Again, I suggest you clock on the pictures to enlarge them so you can see what caught my attention that first night in Luxembourg and every day since - the proliferation of English signs. More on that sad development in a later post.

Next post: Exploring the Moselle wine region by boat and by car!

Posted on September 17th, 2024 from our first night in Luxembourg City after driving hither, thither, and yon all over Luxembourg for the last five days! Even though this is the first post for our new trip, I'll end this post as I've done with past ones, saying please take care of yourselves and your loved ones especially as it holds special significance now for us.