Places in Europe: Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial

Basic Information

• Name: Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial
• Where: Luxembourg
• Founded: 1944
• Burial: 5,076
• Hours: 9AM-5PM daily except Christmas and New Year’s
• More Information: American Battle Monuments Commission

Narrative

When I was visiting western Germany I decided to make a day trip over to Luxembourg to see the American Cemetery and Memorial in the country.  The drive to Luxembourg from where I was staying in Koblenz, Germany was an easy Autobahn drive southwest to Trier and then over the border into Luxembourg:

Once in Luxembourg the cemetery was easy to find since it is located right off of the main A1 highway next to the airport.  When I arrived at the cemetery around 10:00 AM in the morning I was the only car in the lot when I parked next to the entrance gate:

Near the entrance gate is a visitor center where brochures are available.  What I learned was that the Luxembourg American Cemetery is 17 acres in size with additional 33.5 acres of woodland around it.  The cemetery is where 5,076 US military servicemembers from World War II were laid to rest.  Many of the servicemembers lost their lives during the Battle of the Bulge and during combat along the Rhine River.  The cemetery was established on December 29, 1944 by the 609th Quartermaster Company to lay the rest the increasing number of servicemembers killed in combat.  Luxembourg was chosen as the location because the city of Luxembourg is where General George Patton located his Third Army headquarters at.  General Patton was eventually buried here himself after being killed in a car accident during the allied occupation of Germany.

The first thing I noticed after walking into the entrance gate was this huge memorial dedicated the US veterans buried at the cemetery:

The inscription on the memorial said:

1941-1945

In proud remembrance of the achievements of her sons and in humble tribute to their sacrifices this memorial has been erected by the United States of America.

After walking around the memorial I then walked inside of it where I found a small chapel:

The top of the chapel had a really decorative mosaic:

Here is a quotation that was above the chapel door:

Some there be which have no sepulchre their name liveth for evermore.

Here is another quotation on the wall:

Grant us grace fearlessly to contend against evil and make no peace with oppression.

Outside of the memorial there is this large wall with a detailed map that lays out the European campaign that defeated the Nazis during World War II:

On the other side of the wall was a list of names for those who went missing in action during World War II and their bodies remain missing to this day:

After viewing the memorial I next walked over to check out the adjacent cemetery:

I found the cemetery to be quite solemn, amicably maintained, and very uniform which is fitting for a military cemetery:

The bow shape of the cemetery really made it unique from other cemeteries I have been to:

Here is a closer look at the inscription on one of the crosses:

Some of the graves were not crosses, but instead the Star of David for Jewish soldiers who lost their lives fighting the Nazis that tried to exterminate them in Europe:

Here is the view from the back of the cemetery looking up the hill towards the memorial:

From the back of the cemetery I then proceeded to walk up the hill towards the memorial:

Here is a view of the memorial as viewed from the top of the hill:

What was kind of cool with this cemetery was how senior officers like this Brigadier General were buried in the front row as if in command of the lower ranking troops behind them:

In the very front of the cemetery formation was the lone grave of General George S. Patton since he was the commander of all the troops in the Third Army that are buried at the Luxembourg American Cemetery:

Conclusion

Overall outside of Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial is the nicest US military cemetery I have visited. The atmosphere is very solemn and the cemetery is extremely beautiful and well maintained.  I highly recommend that Americans traveling through Luxembourg stop and pay their respects at this fine cemetery.