Meusse -Argonne Cemetery

1919 photo

The World War I Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial is located east of the village of Romagne-sous- Montfaucon (Meuse), France and about twenty-six miles northwest of Verdun.  It may be reached by automobile from Paris via toll Autoroute A-4 or Highway N-3 to Ste. Menehould, about one hundred and fifty-two miles.  Follow Highway N-3 to Clermont-en- Argonne, then via Varennes-en-Argonne about nineteen mile to the cemetery.  It may also be reached from Verdun via Consenvoye or Dun-sur-Meuse a distance of about twenty seven miles.  Rail service from Paris (Gare de l'Est) to Verdun takes about three and a half hours.  Hotels and taxis are available at Verdun.

      Meuse-Argonne, covering one hundred and thirty acres, holds the largest number of American Dead in Europe, a total of 14,246.  Most of those buried here gave their lives during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of World War I.  The immense array of headstones rises in rectangular rows upwards beyond a wide central pool to the chapel which crowns a ridge.  A beautiful bronze screen separates the chapel foyer from the interior, which is decorated with stained glass windows portraying American unit insignia.  Behind the altar are the flags of the Allied nations.

       On either side of the chapel are memorial loggias. One panel of the west loggia contains a map of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.  Inscribed on the remaining panels are the names of the 954 American Missing whose remains were never recovered or identified to include those Missing during our expedition to northern Russia during 1918-1919.

MEUSE-ARGONNE AMERICAN CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL LINKS

Gold Star Mothers: Pilgrimage of Remembrance- PBS documentary

http://www.will.uiuc.edu/pressroom/goldstarphotos.htm

American Battle Monuments Commission

http://www.abmc.gov/ma.htm

The Meuse/Argonne Cemetery

http://www.webmatters.net/france/ww1_argonne_usa.htm