There are 8,301 servicemen buried in Margraten including 40 sets of brothers and six Medal of Honor winners. Since the cemetery's dedication in 1960, Dutch families have sponsored every grave. In fact, there is a waiting list to sponsor a grave. Dutch families have reached out to surviving family members in order to learn about the life of the sponsored serviceman. Each year, in honor of Memorial Day, the Dutch families deposit flowers at the memorial which honors missing soldiers and also at the tombstones of those buried on-site.
The service is attended by the American ambassador to the Netherlands as well as ambassadors from other European countries. Unlike the cemetery at Normandy (in our experience), the German ambassador is invited to attend the ceremony in Margraten.
I am always moved by American cemeteries. For me, it is hard to imagine being separated from family for years fighting in a foreign country so far from home. Mainly, I think of mothers who've lost their sons when I look at the rows of white crosses. I also think of lives cut tragically short by war depriving families of treasured moments that most of us today often take for granted.
Kiddos at entrance to the cemetery
Names of those soldiers who are missing. The remains of soldiers who have been identified since the dedication of the cemetery are marked with a bronze rose which is placed next to their names. In the last 15 or so years, the remains of an American pilot were found in a farmer's field and identified.
Flowers left by a Dutch family commemorating the life of a missing soldier.
A Dutch family with their young daughter searching for the name of their sponsored, missing soldier.
Statue located at the base of the memorial tower
The American ambassador giving her ceremonial address.
Dutch and U.S. servicemembers standing side by side at the ceremony.
J and kiddos walking through the rows of crosses while reading the names of those who died.
The Dutch are grateful for the liberation of their country. Though 66 years have passed, their appreciation for American soldiers who fought their way through to the Ruhr has not diminished. Below is a photo of the kiddos with a Dutch couple who wore many articles depicting the 101st Screaming Eagles as a show of gratitude to the American forces.
The ceremony ended with a missing man formation.
The month prior to this, the kiddos and I accompanied J to Arnhem, the site of operation Market Garden whose aim it was to capture several bridges which would have allowed the allies to encircle the Ruhr and drive into Germany. The operation was conducted by American and British forces with the British failing to capture the bridge at Arnhem. One British general commented that the failure of the operation wasn't that it had been a bridge too far but a bridge too many.
J had to attend a meeting and dropped the kiddos and I off at the British cemetery in Oostebeek and told us to follow the roads back into town. I hadn't taken my camera along that day and have regretted it since. Without a doubt, this cemetery evoked the strongest emotion as it literally moved me to tears. It seems the British allowed family members to inscribe personal sentiments and sayings on the grave markers of lost sons. I think it would've been wonderful had our country done the same. Some of the most moving descriptions to me are the following:
We had a good fight.
Go tell the Spartans that we lie here obeying their words (a reference to the Battle of Thermopylae).
Forever in my memory you’ll remain. My heart is broken.
I mourn my son.
Eric's dear body lies here among friends; not dead but living gloriously.
He was my only son.
Here lies my only child.
Good night, dear Fred. Please God it will soon be morning. - Mum
The kiddos and I read every tombstone before returning to town. Once in town, we bought a picnic lunch at a local market and then walked to the local museum which housed myriad exhibits relating to Market Garden. The museum was stellar, and the kiddos began to understand the magnitude of suffering and loss. One exhibit, the Airborne Experience, frightened Little Man so much that he didn't understand that we weren't part of a battle! In the exhibit, one walks through interactive phases of the battle for Arnhem. Littlest was first in line as we walked into part of town that was mostly destroyed. Sniper fire and the sound of breaking glass could be heard. Log called out, "Grab her mom! She might get shot! She's not behind anything!" Later on in the exhibit, as we 'reached' the river, Log said, "We're at the river...we're going to make it!"
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