The Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is the only American military cemetery in the Netherlands. The cemetery site has a rich historical background, lying near the famous Cologne-Boulogne highway built by the Romans and used by Caesar during his campaign in that area. The highway was also used by Charlemagne, Charles V, Napoleon, and Kaiser Wilhelm II. In May 1940 Hitler’s legions advanced over the route of the old Roman highway, overwhelming the Low Countries. In September 1944, German troops once more used the highway for their withdrawal from the countries occupied for four years.
The cemetery’s tall memorial tower can be seen before reaching the site, which covers 65.5 acres. From the cemetery entrance visitors are led to the Court of Honor with its pool reflecting the tower. At the base of the tower facing the reflecting pool is a statue representing women who have suffered loss. To the right and left, respectively, are the visitor building and the map room containing three large, engraved operations maps with texts depicting the military operations of the American armed forces. Stretching along the sides of the court are Tablets of the Missing on which are recorded 1,722 names. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.
Within the tower is a chapel. The light fixture in the chapel and the altar candelabra and flower bowl were presented by the government of the Netherlands and by the local provincial administration. Beyond the tower is a burial area divided into 16 plots, where rest 8,301 of our military dead, their headstones set in long curves. A wide, tree-lined mall leads to the flagstaff that crowns the crest.
Unique to the cemetery is the connection with the Dutch people. Since 1945 members of the local community have adopted the grave sites of our fallen. They bring flowers to the cemetery and research the life of the service member as a way to honor their sacrifice. Today, the Foundation for Adopting Graves at the American Cemetery Margraten manages this program. With a similar intention the Foundation United Adopters American War Graves created a program known as The Faces of Margraten. This group collects photos of our fallen, and sponsors a bi-annual event at the cemetery during Dutch Memorial Day weekend. More than 3,000 photos are on display that weekend next to headstones and the Walls of the Missing, brining visitors face-to-face with their liberators.
(17 graves, 25 names on the Wall of the Missing)
Sgt. Elbert Quenten Allen
30 May 1925 – 24 August 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Sgt. Donald Wynn ‘Bee’ Andersen
23 January 1923 – 28 September 1944
751st Bomb Squadron
Plot D, Row 12, Grave 18
Lt. Joseph W. Andrews jr.
1922 – 1944
749th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Sgt. Lloyd J. Blood
1924 – 1944
749th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Lt. Sterling R. Book jr.
1920 – 1944
749th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Sgt. Donald Dennis Brunsvold
15 March 1922 – 8 November 1944
749th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
F/O Benjamin Judge Bushey
16 June 1923 – 24 March 1945
751st Bomb Squadron
Plot M, Row 13, Grave 13
Sgt. Eugene Price Bussard
26 May 1921 – 24 March 1945
751st Bomb Squadron
Plot M, Row 13, Grave 14
Sgt. Fred Melville Cogswell jr.
23 May 1916 – 28 September 1944
751st Bomb Squadron
Plot F, Row 17, Grave 24
Sgt. Clarence Wilson Cox
29 January 1924 – 24 August 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Lt. Earl Roy Downey jr.
4 December 1923 – 24 March 1945
751st Bomb Squadron
Plot M, Row 13, Grave 15
Sgt. Lawrence William Erlings
1 January 1924 – 24 August 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Capt. Alfred Walter Fischer
20 December 1918 – 7 October 1944
750th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Lt. William Howard Flannery
30 June 1922 – 7 October 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Lt. Arnet Lee Furr
15 January 1924 – 8 November 1944
749th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Lt. Frederick C. Gauss
8 June 1921 – 10 January 1945
751st Bomb Squadron
Plot D Row 26 Grave 41
Lt. Joseph ‘Joe’ Jirik
29 March 1917 – 28 September 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Plot E, Row 12, Grave 25
Sgt. Maynard E. Judson
29 October 1916 – 25 October 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Plot F, Row 6, Grave 27
Sgt. Robert Lester Kaer
1 September 1922 – 2 November 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Plot G, Row 6, Grave 11
Sgt. William H. Kane
29 October 1916 – 20 June 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Plot H, Row 15, Grave 7
Sgt. John W. Koehler
12 January 1920 – 7 October 1944
750th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Sgt. Lloyd Keith Lagassa
15 October 1919 – 7 October 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Lt. Jewell W. Lowrey
6 September 1921 – 7 October 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Lt. Raymond K. Mills jr.
12 March 1922 – 17 October 1944
750th Bomb Squadron
Plot K, Row 2, Grave 17
Lt. Richard Herbert Parsons
27 December 1919 – 24 August 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Sgt. John Isham Perry
28 February 1919 – 24 August 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Lt. Leon M. Plagianos
10 February 1917 – 8 November 1944
749th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Sgt. Warren M. Rankin
24 February 1920 – 8 November 1944
749th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Sgt. Paul Frederick Reichert
17 January 1919 – 28 September 1944
751st Bomb Squadron
Plot P, Row 19, Grave 5
Sgt. Arthur George Rounseville
8 December 1924 – 28 September 1944
751st Bomb Squadron
Plot C, Row 12, Grave 12
Lt. John George ‘Jack’ Schloendorn
15 July 1917 – 7 October 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Lt. Teddy Graceton Shaw
16 November 1922 – 24 August 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Sgt. Ancil U. Shepherd
17 September 1920 – 7 October 1944
750th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Lt. Albert Leon Sikkenga
11 August 1920 – 28 September 1944
751st Bomb Squadron
Plot I, Row 10, Grave 13
Sgt. Chester Lee Spurrier
2 October 1924 – 2 November 1944
751st Bomb Squadron
Plot K, Row 14, Grave 18
Sgt. Dominic Staszewski
3 August 1913 – 2 November 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Plot N, Row 8, Grave 3
Sgt. Dwayne E. Stowits
1922 – 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Sgt. Stanley D. Swanson
1920 – 1945
748th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Lt. Jack M. Thames
30 November 1922 – 24 August 1944
748th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Lt. Robert K. Walker
1918 – 1944
751st Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Sgt. Richard C. Weaver
1922 – 1944
749th Bomb Squadron
Wall of the Missing
Lt. Sherrill R. Williams
29 July 1921 – 24 March 1945
751st Bomb Squadron
Plot M, Row 13, Grave 16