Lorraine American Military Cemetery and Memorial

Today we went to the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial outside Saint-Avold, Moselle, France. With over 113 acres and over 10,000 graves, it is the largest American World War II cemetery in Europe.

This memorial was very sad to see. I initally was most upset that these brave soldiers were burried in France, not the United States. I thought that it was unbelievable that people who give their lives for the United States, end up burried in a plot of land in a far away land. After hearing from the tour guide in the large chapel that the families were given the option to have the bodies repatriated, I only got more confused. I could not understand how the family members would be fine with their loved ones being burried in a far away place.

After doing some more research about the cemetery and memorial, I started to understand why the families wanted to keep their loved ones in the French cemetery. To many of the family members, the soldiers died fighting for the values of the allies, against the Nazis and died fighting for the very land they are now burried in. When the American troops were fighting with the British troops or French troops, they were fighting as one, not as Americans or British, but as allies. I began to see being burried in France as the ultimate show of unity with our allies. The American sodliers were fighting for the freedom of France, but also to make sure that people did not need to live in fear.

There was a monument in the cemetery that said "Here are recorded the names of Americans who gave their lives in the service of their country and who sleep in unknown graves". Upon further reflection, that statement means so much more to me. The Americans who gave their lives did not just do it in service of their country. They gave their lives in service to the world. To ensure that freedom and democracy would prevail against oppresion and facism. I think overall, seeing this monument also showed me to not just see something superficially, but to really delve deep and see the greater meaning behind something. So often, people just see things on the surface and ignore the deeper underlying aspects. I think this has helped push me to always delve beneth the surface and find the deeper meaning.