Airmen to visit World War II cemetery on Memorial Day

  • Published
  • By Petra Lessoing
  • 435th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFPN) --  A Memorial Day ceremony to commemorate the memory of the American war dead who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom is scheduled for 11 a.m. May 25 at the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in St. Avold, France.

The ceremony includes a fly over by a C-130 Hercules, the playing of the French and American national hymns, prayers, and performances by a local choir.

Speaches will be given by Andre Wojciechowski, the deputy mayor of St. Avold, and Army Brig. Gen. Keith Gallagher, the commander of U.S. Army Europe Regional Medical Command. At the end, there will be a placing of wreaths and floral tributes to be followed by firing of volleys, the playing of "Taps" and rising of the colors.

Members of the French air force, the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band and the American Medical Corps Europe will be present.

"This year we expect at least four family groups from the states visiting the graves of relatives," said Horace Thompson, the Lorraine American Cemetery superintendent. One group consists of 25 family members, who have next-of-kin buried here, and another group belongs to the American War Orphans Network.

"We expect about 1,500 people attending the ceremony," Mr. Thompson said. "If the weather is nice, a lot of local nationals will come out as well."

The Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial covers 113.5 acres and contains the largest number of graves of military World War II victims in Europe -- a total of 10,489.

Most of the dead here were killed while driving the German forces from the fortress city of Metz toward the Siegfried Line and the Rhine River.

"Initially, there were more than 16,000 Americans interred in the St. Avold region, mostly from the U.S. 7th Army's Infantry and Armored divisions and its Cavalry Groups," said Walter Benjamin, the assistant supervisor at Lorraine American Cemetery. St. Avold served as a vital communications center for the vast network of enemy defenses guarding the western border of the Third Reich.

"The last American Soldier who died here in this area, just one day before World War II was over, is buried here as well, " Mr. Benjamin said.

Directly following the ceremony at the cemetery, there is a reception in the town of St. Avold, and then the French-American Organization sponsors a picnic at the Cultural Activities Center in St. Avold. 

An Armed Forces Day memorial service will be at 11 a.m. May 17. 

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