American War Cemetery and Memorial
Margraten, The Netherlands
This is not my ‘normal‘ post. I just wanted to share these images and my experience visiting the American War Cemetery, nothing else.
It seems appropriate as we approach Memorial Day in the United States.
It’s been almost eighty years since the end of the Second World War, but the power and presence of this place never lessen.
I always find it so emotional coming here to the American War Cemetery at Margraten, near Maastricht in The Netherlands. When you first walk through the entranceway, you see thousands upon thousands of headstones for the fallen.
Eight thousand, three hundred and one are interred here. A small drop in the ocean of deaths from the Second World War.
They call it the ultimate sacrifice, I’m sure they would rather have lived to see the end of the war and a peaceful life with their families. So tragic and so unnecessary.
On either side of the entrance, there are two walls lined with the names of one thousand seven hundred and twenty-two other missing American service personnel.
Many, but not all, have since been identified and have a rosette placed next to their names.
Amongst all of the tragedy is the double tragedy of the people, the young men who died just before the end of the war.
Gerald E Platt Jr. PFC, 345th Infantry Regiment, 87th Infantry Division, New York. Killed in action on April 8, 1945, near the small German village of Kleinschmalkalden.
Beside him lies Donald H Copeland, a Staff Sergeant with the 353 Infantry Regiment, 89th Infantry Division. He came from West Virginia and was killed on April 7, 1945.
What a waste.
It makes all of our problems, our daily stresses, and pressures seem completely superfluous. What are we thinking about? What are we worrying about? We still have our lives thanks in no small part to these boys.
I came across the grave marker for Edward R Ourada, a Private in the Transport Corps from Nebraska who was killed months after the war in Europe was over, on November 3, 1945.
He was killed in a tram accident in Antwerp. Having survived the war only to be killed in a traffic accident.
Final Thought
The sacrifices given by the young men of the United States during that brutal war are not forgotten and never will be.