Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery

For the war memorial, see Meuse-Argonne American Memorial.

Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery
Cimetière Américain (Meuse-Argonne)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Tombstones and the reflecting pool
For the AEF, American Forces in Germany (1919–23), and AEF in North Russia (1918–19) dead and missing
Established	October 14, 1918 (1918-10-14)
Unveiled	May 30, 1937 (1937-05-30)
Location	49°20′03″N 05°05′36″E near  Romagne, France
Designed by	York and Sawyer
Total burials	14,246 plus 954 commemorated
Unknowns	486
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Funerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front)
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, vi
Designated	2023 (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), most of whom lost their lives during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and were buried there.

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

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

Official

• Official website
• American Battle Monuments Commission (archived)

General information

• Meuse-Argonne.wmv – Windows Media Video
• Cemetery booklet (no pictures)
• Cemetery booklet (with pictures)
• Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery at Find a Grave