Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery

 memorial, Second World War 1939-1945, military, cemetery

Here in the 57 acre Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial, adminitered by the American Battle Monuments Commission, rest 7,992 American military dead, most of whom lost their lives during the advance of the U.S. armed forces into Germany, 1944-1945.
Their headstones are arranged in gentle arcs sweeping across a broad green lawn that slopes gently downhill. A highway passes through the reservation. West of the highway an overlook affords an excellent view of the rolling countryside, once a battlefield.
To the east is the long colonnade which, with the chapel and map room, forms the memorial overlooking the burial area. The chapel is simple but richly ornamented. In the map room are two maps of military operations, carved in black granite, with inscriptions recalling the achievements of the Allied forces. On the rectangular piers of the colonnade are inscribed the names of 450 missing American service men.
Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified. The seals of the states and U.S. territories are also carved on these piers.
The cemetery is of great military and historic significance as it holds fallen Americans of two major efforts, one covering the U.S. First Army's drive in September 1944 through northern France, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg into Germany, the second covering the Battle of the Bulge.
Once safely behind the Allies line of advance, Henri-Chapelle began functioning as a temporary graveyard as early as September 1944.
At it first had as many enemy as Allied burials, but the German dead were later moved and about 60% of the American dead were eventually returned to the States.
Now, 7,992 military personnel remain buried at Henri-Chapelle. Most died when the Americans first breached the German border around the town of Aachen and (a few months later) in northern sectors of the pivotal Battle of the Bulge.
It was from the temporary cemetery at Henri-Chapelle that the first shipments of remains of American war dead were returned to the U.S. for permanent burial. The repatriation program began 27 July 1947 at a special ceremony at the cemetery when the dis-interment began.
The first shipment of 5,600 American war dead from Henri-Chapelle left Antwerp the first week of October 1947. An impressive ceremony was held, with over 30,000 Belgium citizens attending along with representatives of the Belgium government and senior Americans.
Six decades after the war, the job of finding and burying the dead continues. In September 2008 the remains of two American soldiers from the 28th were found in eastern Germany.

The cemetery is open daily to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except December 25 and January 1.
It remains open on host country holidays.
When the cemetery is open to the public, a staff member is on duty in the Visitor Building to answer questions and escort relatives to grave and memorial sites.