This 52-heactare (130-acre) cemetery was established on 14 October, 1918, by the US Army on land taken by the 32nd Infantry Division. This land was ceded to the United States in perpetuity by the French Government to establish a permanent, tax-free burial site.

This cemetery contains the remains of 14,246 soldiers, most of whom fell during the US First Army’s operations of 26 September to 11 November, 1918. In 1922, the bodies buried in temporary cemeteries around the region, but also in the Vosges and in Occupied Germany, were brought here to their final resting place. Many of those who died at Arkhangelsk, Russia, were also buried in this cemetery. Among the tombs, 486 hold the remains of unidentified soldiers.

The Memorial, a typical example of Romanesque architecture, faces north at the top of a hill that slopes down to the tombs. It comprises a chapel flanked by two loggias, inside which is the Wall of the Missing. The outside walls and the columns are in Euville Coquillier stone, while the interior walls are in Salamandre Travertine.

The names of the 954 missing soldiers who gave their lives for their country and whose bodies were never found or identified are engraved on the Wall of the Missing. This necropolis was built by the architects York and Sawyer of New York. The infrastructures, as we can see them today, were completed in 1932. The cemetery was inaugurated on Memorial Day, 1937, for the twentieth anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War One.

This monument rises nearly 60 metres above the ruins of the former village of Montfaucon, built at the top of a hill overlooking the surrounding countryside. Before it was taken by the US 37th and 79th Divisions on 27 September, 1918, this site provided the German troops with a remarkable observation point.

The monument commemorates the victory of the US First Army in the Meuse – Argonne offensive of 26 September to 11 November, 1918, and honours the heroism of the French Army on the front before this period.

Tekst en more information:  www.abmc.gov.

Meuse – Argonne American Cemetery
55110 Romagne sous Montfaucon – France
Openinghours: day and night.