Cross of Sacrifice

A Cross of Sacrifice in Ypres Reservoir cemetery.

The Cross of Sacrifice was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission and is usually present in Commonwealth war cemeteries containing 40 or more graves. ^[1] It is normally a freestanding four point limestone Latin cross in one of three sizes ranging in height from 18 to 32 feet.^[2] On the face of the cross is a bronze broadsword, blade down. It is usually mounted on an octagonal base. The Cross represents the faith of the majority of the dead and the sword represents the military character of the cemetery. The Cross of Sacrifice is frequently built into the boundary wall of cemeteries where subsidence is a liability, such as those in Turkey.^[2]

U.S. Installations

There is a Cross of Sacrifice located in Arlington National Cemetery by the graves of United States citizens who enlisted in the Canadian military, and lost their lives during the First World War. Proposed in 1925 by Canadian Prime Minister MacKenzie King, it was in part due to Canada entering the war long before the United States, and many Americans enlisting in Canada to join the fighting in Europe. On June 12, 1925, President Calvin Coolidge approved the request, and on Armistice Day 1927 the monument near the Memorial Amphitheater was dedicated.

The inscription on the cross^{[clarification needed]} reaffirms the sentiment expressed by Prime Minister King regarding Americans who served in the Canadian Forces. Following the Second World War and the Korean War, similar inscriptions on other faces of the monument were dedicated to the Americans who served in those conflicts. ^[3]

References

1. ^ http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009128 Canadian Encyclopedia Monuments, World Wars I and II
2. ^ ^{a b} "Features of Commonwealth War Cemeteries" (Word document). Commonwealth War Graves Commission. http://www.cwgc.org/admin/files/Features%20of%20Commonwealth%20War%20Cemeteries.doc. Retrieved 2009-05-23. 
3. ^ Peters, James Edward. Arlington National Cemetery: Shrine to America's Heroes. Woodbine House, 2000.

External links

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The War Graves Photographic Project
• Collection of quotes concerning the Cross of Sacrifice

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