Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial

Infobox Military Cemetery
name=Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial
body=American Battle Monuments Commission


caption=View of the chapel, with headstones in the foreground.
use_dates=1917-1918
established=1918
designer=Dr. Paul P. Cret of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
J. Greber of Paris, France (landscaping)
coordinates=
nearest_town=Waregem, Belgium
total=411
unknowns=21
by_country=
by_war=
source= [http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/ff.php ABMC Flanders Field website]

Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial is a World War I cemetery on the southeast edge of the town of Waregem, Belgium. This is the only American World War I cemetery in Belgium and 411 American servicemen are buried or commemorated there. Many of them fell at "Spitaals Bosschen", an action of the Ypres-Lys Campaign by the 91st Infantry Division in the closing days of World War I.

This cemetery is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and occupies a six acre (24,000 m²) site. As with all Allied war cemeteries, the land was provided in perpetuity by the Belgian government. The headstones are aligned in four symmetrical areas around the white stone chapel that stands in the center of the cemetery. The side walls of the chapel are inscribed with the names of 43 missing American servicemen who have no known graves. It is open daily from 09:00 to 17:00 except 25 December and 1 January. The ABMC also administers two American cemeteries in Belgium for World War II casualties: Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial; and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial.

The cemetery is in the area known as Flanders Fields, where fierce fighting took place throughout the war. Canadian war poet, Lt-Col John McCrae, wrote the poem "In Flanders Fields" on May 3, 1915, after witnessing the death of his friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, the day before.

References

* [http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/ff.php American Battle Monuments Commission site]