Description of the attraction
Among the iconic places of the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and its surroundings, which are definitely worth a visit, it is perhaps worth noting the American Memorial Cemetery, located just 2.5 km southwest of Luxembourg-Findel International Airport in the eastern part of Luxembourg city in the Hamm quarter … This place can hardly be called a landmark, it is rather a "living" reminder that it is impossible to fix the past, you can only try not to repeat it, and the cost of any war is thousands of ruined lives, thousands of broken destinies …
The American cemetery appeared in Luxembourg at the end of December 1944 as a temporary burial place for American soldiers who died in one of the decisive battles of World War II - the legendary Battle of the Bulge. In 1946, it was decided to put the cemetery in order and turn it into a war memorial. Subsequently, some of the remains were sent to their historical homeland, but new burials were added, transported from the military cemeteries of France and Belgium. In 1951, an agreement was signed between the United States and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, according to which this land plot was officially transferred for unlimited use and free of charge to the United States. The inauguration of the American Memorial Cemetery took place on July 4, 1960.
Today the American Memorial Cemetery is a huge, surrounded by forest, emerald field with rows of simple white headstones in the form of crosses, among which, however, there are tombstones crowned with the Star of David, as a tribute to the religious beliefs of the departed. A snow-white stone chapel rises not far from the entrance. The total number of burials is 5076.
The American cemetery in Luxembourg also became the last resting place of the legendary American General George Smith Patton Jr., who died in a car accident after the end of World War II.
