Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial
American Battle Monuments Commission
View of the chapel, with headstones in the foreground.
Used for those deceased 1917-1918
Established	1918
Location	near Waregem, Belgium
Designed by	Dr. Paul P. Cret of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania J. Greber of Paris, France (landscaping)
Total burials	411
Unknown burials	21
Statistics source: ABMC Flanders Field website

Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial is a World War I cemetery on the southeast edge of the town of Waregem, Belgium. This is the only American World War I cemetery in Belgium and 411 American servicemen are buried or commemorated there. Many of them fell at Spitaals Bosschen, an action of the Ypres-Lys Campaign by the 91st Infantry Division in the closing days of World War I.

This cemetery is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and occupies a six acre (24,000 m²) site. As with all Allied war cemeteries, the land was provided in perpetuity by the Belgian government. The headstones are aligned in four symmetrical areas around the white stone chapel that stands in the center of the cemetery. The side walls of the chapel are inscribed with the names of 43 missing American servicemen who have no known graves. It is open daily from 09:00 to 17:00 except 25 December and 1 January. The ABMC also administers two American cemeteries in Belgium for World War II casualties: Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial; and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial.

The cemetery is in the area known as Flanders Fields, where fierce fighting took place throughout the war. Canadian war poet, Lt-Col John McCrae, wrote the poem In Flanders Fields on May 3, 1915, after witnessing the death of his friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, the day before.