MARGRATEN, Netherlands - The American Embassy and the American Battle Monuments Commission hosted the 68th annual Memorial Day Ceremony at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial here Sunday, May 27, 2012.
Thousands of participants were greeted with perfect weather and the ceremony featured Dutch and American dignitaries, the laying of more than 75 wreaths, choral music and a "missing man formation" flyover by the Royal Dutch Air Force.
Speakers at the ceremony included the cemetery's Superintendent Keith K. Stadler; Darrell Dorgan, Commissioner of the American Battle Monuments Commission; Edwin R. Nolan, the Charge d' Affaires from the American Embassy in The Hague; Hans Hillen, the Dutch Minister of Defense; Th. J.F.M. Bovens from the Dutch Queen's Commission for the Province of Limburg; U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, Commander of the U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army.
Listen to Lt. Gen. Hertling's remarks by clicking the link to the right.
The Dutch observe their Remembrance Day May 4 and Liberation Day May 5, but they've made it a tradition on the Sunday before the U.S. Memorial Day to pay tribute to all US military service members who fought and died in the pursuit of liberty and freedom at the cemetery in Margraten.
This tradition began in May 1945 when Dutch families adorned all 18,000 graves. In addition to adopting 8,301 grave sites today, all 1,722 names on the cemetery's 'Wall of the Missing' are also adopted by the Dutch.
In September 1944, the southern part of the Province of Limburg was liberated exclusively by U.S. forces. Allied operations in the northern part of the Netherlands did not succeed until the following spring. The Dutch suffered a terrible winter of famine in the north while the allies fought the Battle of the Bulge.
The cemetery in Margraten was originally the resting place for nearly 18,000 American war dead. There are 8,301 Americans buried there today.
All graves at the cemetery have been adopted by Dutch families. Many make annual visits to visit the gravesites and share photos with family members back in the U.S.
The Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial was established in September 1944 by the U.S. 611th Graves Registration Company commanded then by U.S. Army Capt. Joseph Shomon. Shomon was ordered by the US Ninth Army to establish a grave site as allied forces advanced and prepared for the Battle of the Bulge.
Shomon found his way to the Town Hall of Margraten, Netherlands where a representative that spoke English escorted him to an orchard where Shomon and local farmers came to an agreement. The first graves were laid November 1944.
The Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is one of 24 permanent American burial grounds operated by the American Battle Monuments Commission on foreign soil and is the only American cemetery of its kind in the Netherlands.
Related Links:
Embassy of the United States, The Hague, Netherlands
U.S. Army Europe Commander's Memorial Day remarks in The Netherlands
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