By Jim Goyjer
Each year on May 4, the Dutch remember the civilians and soldiers who have died in the Netherlands and throughout the world since the outbreak of World War II with two minutes of silence at 8 pm (20:00). In the United States, Memorial Day honors its military personnel who have died while serving in the US Armed Forces on the last Monday in May. Both days of remembrance are held in the village of Margraten at the Netherlands American Cemetery, located in the province of Limburg.
According to The National Committee 4 and 5 May (Het Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei), the Netherlands has more than 4,000 World War II cemeteries and memorials, the most in Europe. Many of the memorials are dedicated to the over 3,000 crashed Allied warplanes and their crews. The largest memorial and cemetery is the Netherlands American Cemetery.
The Netherlands American Cemetery (Amerikaanse Begraafplaats) is a World War II military cemetery and is the only American cemetery in the Netherlands. Here is where 8,288 American war dead are buried and where the names of 1,722 American missing service personnel are engraved on tablets. Most died during the unsuccessful Operation Market Garden in September 1944.
The US 30th Infantry Division liberated Margraten on September 13, 1944. The war continued until May 1945. During the brutal winter of 1944/45, thousands of American soldiers were killed during the ill-fated Operation Market Garden. Its mission was to seize nine strategic bridges crossing into Nazi-Germany. Due to miscalculations, the Allied forces were unable to establish a coordinated stable bridgehead on the Rhine.
When the war ended on May 5, 1945, the U.S. military needed a place to bury its dead. They settled on a 26.5 hectare (65.5 acre) fruit orchard located in Margraten, east of the city of Maastricht. According to the American Battle Monuments Commission, “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.”
Between September 1944 and March 1945, up to 500 bodies arrived each day. There were so many that the mayor went door to door asking villagers for help with the digging. Within six months, more than 10,000 American casualties were buried at the cemetery.
This village of 1,500 residents never forgot the sacrifice of the American liberators. To express their gratitude, the Citizens Committee Margraten (Burger Comité Margraten) was formed in February 1945 by a local pastor. It was considered a moral duty as human beings to honor these brave soldiers.
The Committee’s goals were to establish a proper cemetery and to create an adoption program for these fallen soldiers. The adopter would adopt a grave and visit it regularly. They could also volunteer to contact the next of kin, stay in touch and assure them of the grave’s care.
The campaign was a tremendous success. On the first Memorial Day ceremony in May 1945, every grave was decorated with flowers. On the second Memorial Day, May 31, 1946, all the graves had been adopted, a total of 18,774 at that time. Almost 40,000 people attended that ceremony, including dignitaries such as the Netherland’s Prince Bernhard and the American Ambassador.
From 1946 to 1948 the number of graves shrank from 18,774 to the present 8,288, as thousands of families asked for their loved ones’ remains to be returned home.
The Netherlands American Cemetery was officially opened in 1960 by Queen Juliana, grandmother of the current King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.
At the entrance, behind a reflecting pool, is the Court of Honor. The walls on either side of the Court of Honor contain Tablets of the Missing Soldiers engraved on English Portland stone. A rosette is placed next to a name when the soldier has been identified. The American Cemetery is Europe’s third-largest war cemetery for unidentified soldiers who died in World War II.
The Netherlands granted the land of the cemetery to the US on eternal loan. Each grave is marked by a white marble headstone with the name of the fallen soldier. The Jewish soldiers have headstones bearing a Star of David. The graves of the six soldiers who were awarded a Medal of Honor are recognized by the gold star on their gravestone.
The Netherlands American Cemetery is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission, established by the US Congress in 1923, and is an agency of the executive branch of the federal government. Two other American cemeteries abroad have adoption programs — both in Belgium — but Margraten is the only one where every grave has a volunteer caretaker and a waiting list.
The Dutch will continue to safeguard the American story of loss and sacrifice in World War II. Their heroism will never be forgotten.
Jim And Nanci Travels 