Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial

Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial is a Second World War American military war grave cemetery in eastern Belgium, located 3 km (2 mi) northwest of Henri-Chapelle, about 30 km (20 mi) east of Liège. Dedicated in 1960, the cemetery contains 7,992 American war dead and covers 57 acres (23 ha).

Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery
and Memorial
American Battle Monuments Commission
Used for those deceased 1941–1945
Established1945
Location50.697°N 5.900°E / 50.697; 5.900
near 
Welkenraedt, Belgium
Designed byHolabird, Root and Burgee
of Chicago, Illinois
Franz Lipp of Chicago, Illinois
(landscaping)
Total burials7,992
Unknowns
94
Statistics source: ABMC Henri-Chapelle website

One of three American war cemeteries in Belgium, along with the Ardennes American Cemetery and Flanders Field, it is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).[1]

History

The majority of the fallen buried at Henri-Chapelle were killed during the Allied push in Germany during late 1944 and early 1945. The fallen from two key military engagements fill the cemetery; the First United States Army's drive through northern France, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg into Germany in September 1944; and the Battle of the Bulge (including the Battle of Hurtgen Forest and later taking of Aachen).

Following the war, the American Graves Registration Service began to repatriate the bodies of fallen personnel back to the United States. Disinterments began on 27 July 1947, and the first shipment of bodies left the Belgian port of Antwerp in October 1947. The moment was marked by a large commemoration attended by over 30,000 Belgian citizens.

Layout

The cemetery placed graves in arcs across gently slopes lawns, and a central road passes through the cemetery. There is a chapel and visitor's center containing carved granite maps showing the advance of U.S. forces across Belgium and into Germany. A colonnade features the names of 450 missing U.S. service personnel (rosettes next to a name highlight that that person has since been located or identified).

The statue Angel of Peace, created by Donal Hord, was unveiled at the cemetery in 1956.

Notable burials
Grave of General Castle

Several Medal of Honor recipients are buried in the cemetery:

Other notables:

References
  1. American Battle Monuments Commission. "Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery". abmc.gov. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  • Sledge, Michael (2005). Soldier Dead: How We Recover, Identify, Bury, and Honor Our Military Fallen. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 207, 210. ISBN 9780231509374. OCLC 60527603.
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