Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery

49°20′03″N 05°05′36″E / 49.33417°N 5.09333°E / 49.33417; 5.09333
near Designed byYork and SawyerTotal burials14,246 plus 954 commemorated486Official nameFunerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front)TypeCulturalCriteriai, ii, viDesignated2023 (45th session)Reference no.1567-ME03 Statistics source: ABMC Meuse-Argonne web page

The Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery (French: Cimetière Américain (Meuse-Argonne)) is a 130.5-acre (52.8 ha) World War I cemetery in France. It is located east of the village of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon in Meuse. The cemetery contains the largest number of American military dead in Europe (14,246),^[1] most of whom lost their lives during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and were buried there.^[2]

The cemetery consists of eight sections behind a large central reflection pool. Beyond the grave sections is a chapel which is decorated with stained glass windows depicting American units' insignias. Along the walls of the chapel area are the tablets of the missing which include the names of those soldiers who fought in the region and in northern Russia, but have no known grave. It also includes the Meuse-Argonne American Memorial. This cemetery is maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission. It is open daily to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The cemetery is closed January 1 and December 25, but is open on all other holidays.

Notable burials

• Medal of Honor recipients
  • Second Lieutenant Erwin R. Bleckley (1894–1918), for service near Binarville, France
  • Captain Marcellus H. Chiles (1895–1918), for action near Le Champy Bas, France
  • Sergeant Matej Kocak (1882–1918), two-time recipient (Army and Navy medals)
  • Second Lieutenant Frank Luke Jr. (1897–1918), the "Arizona Balloon Buster" and first airman to receive the medal of honor; Luke Air Force Base is named after him
  • Major Oscar F. Miller (1882–1918), for his leadership in the Argonne
  • Corporal Harold W. Roberts (1895–1918), for action in the Montrebeau Woods
  • Sergeant William Sawelson (1895–1918), for action at Grandpré, Ardennes
  • Lieutenant Colonel Fred E. Smith (1873–1918), for action near Binarville, France
  • Corporal Freddie Stowers (1896–1918), for action in the Ardennes (medal awarded in 1991)
• Other notables
  • Sergeant Victor E. Chapman (1890–1916), first American aviator to die in battle in the war
  • Captain Edward L. Grant (1883–1918), pre-war professional baseball player

Gallery

• 
  Aerial view of cemetery.
• 
  Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery.
• 
  Grave of an unknown Jewish American combatant in the cemetery
• 
  Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery Chapel.
• 
  Grave of Medal of Honor recipient Harold W. Roberts

See also

• List of World War I memorials and cemeteries in the Argonne
• Meuse-Argonne American Memorial
• Meuse-Argonne Offensive

References

Further reading

• Sledge, Michael (2005). Soldier Dead: How We Recover, Identify, Bury, and Honor Our Military Fallen. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 204–06, 217. ISBN 978-0231509374. OCLC 60527603.

External links

Cemeteries and Memorials

Belgium	Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial
France	Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial Lafayette Escadrille Cemetery and Memorial Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial Somme American Cemetery and Memorial St. Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial
Italy	Florence American Cemetery and Memorial Sicily–Rome American Cemetery and Memorial
Luxembourg	Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial
Mexico	Mexico City National Cemetery
Netherlands	Netherlands American Cemetery
Panama	Corozal American Cemetery and Memorial
Philippines	Clark Veterans Cemetery Manila American Cemetery
Tunisia	North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial
United Kingdom	Brookwood American Cemetery and Memorial Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial

Related organizationsPeople

General	David Urban
Principal Architects	Perry Dean Rogers Architects Paul Philippe Cret
Landscaping	Olmsted Brothers