American Battle Monuments Commission facts for kids
Seal of the American Battle Monuments Commission
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1923 |
| Type | Independent Agency of the United States Government |
| Headquarters | 2300 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 500 Arlington, Virginia 22201 |
| Motto | "Time will not dim the glory of their deeds." |
| Employees | 472 (2023) |
| Annual budget | $73.1 million (2023) |
| Agency executive |
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The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) is an independent agency of the United States government that administers, operates, and maintains permanent U.S. military cemeteries, memorials and monuments primarily outside the United States.
There were 26 cemeteries and 31 memorials, monuments and markers under the care of the ABMC. There are more than 140,000 U.S. servicemen and servicewomen interred at the cemeteries, and more than 94,000 missing in action, or lost or buried at sea are memorialized on cemetery Walls of the Missing and on three memorials in the United States. The ABMC also maintains an online database of names associated with each site.
Contents
History
The ABMC was established by the United States Congress in 1923. Its purpose is to:
- Commemorate the services of the U.S. armed forces where they have served since April 6, 1917;
- Establish suitable War memorials; designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining permanent U.S. military burial grounds in foreign countries;
- Control the design and construction of U.S. military monuments and markers in foreign countries by other U.S. citizens and organizations, both public and private;
- Encourage the maintenance of such monuments and markers by their sponsors.
The United States Department of War established eight European burial grounds for World War I. The ABMC's first program was landscaping and erecting non-sectarian chapels at each of the eight sites, constructing 11 separate monuments and two tablets at other sites in Europe, and constructing the Allied Expeditionary Forces World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. For those buried who could not be identified during World War I, a percentage were commemorated by Star of David markers, rather than a cross; this practice was not continued for those who could not be identified during World War II.
In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order transferring control of the eight cemeteries to the ABMC, and made the commission responsible for the design, construction, maintenance and operation of all future permanent American military burial grounds outside the United States.
The ABMC has been the caretaker of cemeteries, monuments and memorials for World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Mexican–American War. In 2013, Clark Veterans Cemetery in the Philippines became the 25th site under the control of the commission. Clark Veterans Cemetery dates back to the Philippine–American War at the turn of the 20th century. The Lafayette Escadrille Memorial Cemetery outside Paris, France was added to the commission's responsibilities in 2017.
Structure
The agency has its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and its Overseas Operations Office in Paris, France.
The authorizing legislation for the American Battle Monuments Commission (36 U.S.C., Chapter 21) specifies that the President may appoint up to 11 members to the commission (who serve indefinite terms and who serve without pay) and an officer of the Army to serve as the secretary.
Chairmen of the ABMC
- John J. Pershing (1923–1948)
- George C. Marshall (1949–1959)
- Jacob L. Devers (1960–1969)
- Mark W. Clark (1969–1984)
- Andrew Goodpaster (1985–1990)
- Paul X. Kelley (1991–1994, 2001–2005)
- Frederick F. Woerner Jr. (1994–2001)
- Frederick M. Franks Jr. (2005–2009)
- Merrill McPeak (2010–2018)
- David Urban (2018–2021)
- Mark Hertling (2021–2023)
- Michael X. Garrett (2023–present)
Secretaries of the ABMC
- Xenophon H. Price (1923–1938)
- Thomas North (1946–1968)
- Andrew J. Adams (1968–1992)
- Joseph A. Laposata (1994–1995)
- John P. Herrling (1995–2005)
- John W. Nicholson (2005–2009)
- Max Cleland (2009–2017)
- William Matz Jr. (2018–2021)
- Charles K. Djou (2022–present)
Board of Commissioners
10 commissioners were appointed by President Joe Biden on September 28, 2021: Darrell L. Dorgan; John L. Estrada; Florent Groberg; Amy Looney Heffernan; Matthew E. Jones; Raymond D. Kemp, Sr.; Bud D. Pettigrew; Michael E. Smith; Gail Berry West; and Daniel P. Woodward. Mark P. Hertling was originally appointed as secretary on the same day, but was later appointed as commissioner, and was elected as chairman on December 13, 2021. Following Hertling's departure from ABMC, President Biden appointed Michael X. Garrett as commissioner in July 2023. Garrett was elected as chairman on August 1, 2023.
Operations
The American Battle Monuments Commission employs a full-time staff of 472 people in 2023. All ABMC sites are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, with the exception of Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Cemeteries are not closed for national holidays. When the sites are open to the public, a commission staff member is available to escort visitors and relatives to grave and memorial sites or to answer questions.
Cemeteries and Memorials of the ABMC
| Cemetery | Country | Conflict | Dedicated | Burials | MIA | Web |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial |  France |
World War I | 1937 | 2,289 | 1,060 | Details |
| Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial |  Belgium |
World War II | 1960 | 5,323 | 463 | Details |
| Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial | France |
World War II | 1956 | 4,409 | 498 | Details |
| Brookwood American Cemetery and Memorial |  United Kingdom |
World War I | 1937 | 468 | 563 | Details |
| Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial | United Kingdom |
World War II | 1956 | 3,812 | 5,127 | Details |
| Clark Veterans Cemetery |  Philippines |
Philippine–American War and after |
c. 1900 2013 (with ABMC) |
8,000+ | Details | |
| Corozal American Cemetery and Memorial |  Panama |
veterans of the Mexican–American War American Civil War World War I World War II |
1914 1982 (with ABMC) |
5,450 | Details | |
| Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial | France |
World War II | 1944 1956 (with ABMC) |
5,255 | 424 | Details |
| Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial | Belgium |
World War I | 1937 | 368 | 43 | Details |
| Florence American Cemetery and Memorial |  Italy |
World War II | 1960 | 4,402 | 1,409 | Details |
| Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial | Belgium |
World War II | 1960 | 7,992 | 450 | Details |
| Lafayette Escadrille Cemetery and Memorial | France |
World War I | 1928 2017 (with ABMC) |
51 | 5 | Details |
| Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial | France |
World War II | 1960 | 10,489 | 444 | Details |
| Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial |  Luxembourg |
World War II | 1960 | 5,076 | 371 | Details |
| Manila American Cemetery and Memorial | Philippines |
World War II | 1960 | 17,201 | 36,285 | Details |
| Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial | France |
World War I | 1937 | 14,246 | 954 | Details |
| Mexico City National Cemetery |  Mexico |
Mexican–American War | 1851 | 813 | 750 | Details |
| Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial |  Netherlands |
World War II | 1960 | 8,301 | 1,722 | Details |
| Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial | France |
World War II | 1956 | 9,387 | 1,557 | Details |
| North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial |  Tunisia |
World War II | 1960 | 2,841 | 3,724 | Details |
| Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial | France |
World War I | 1937 | 6,012 | 241 | Details |
| Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial | France |
World War II | 1956 | 860 | 294 | Details |
| Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial | Italy |
World War II | 1956 | 7,861 | 3,095 | Details |
| Somme American Cemetery and Memorial | France |
World War I | 1937 | 1,844 | 333 | Details |
| St. Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial | France |
World War I | 1937 | 4,153 | 284 | Details |
| Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial | France |
World War I | 1937 | 1,565 | 974 | Details |
Monuments of the ABMC
| Monument | Location | Country | Dedication | Battle | Web |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish–American War | |||||
| Santiago Surrender Tree | Santiago de Cuba |  Cuba |
Site of the negotiation of the Spanish Gen. José Toral's surrender of Santiago de Cuba on July 13, 1898 | Siege of Santiago | Details |
| World War I | |||||
| Audenarde American Monument | Oudenaarde | Belgium |
37th and 91st Divisions | October–November 1918 | Details |
| Belleau Wood American Monument | Belleau | France |
5th and 6th Marine Regiments | Battle of Belleau Wood | Details |
| Bellicourt American Monument | St. Quentin | France |
27th and 30th Divisions | Battle of St. Quentin Canal | Details |
| Cantigny American Monument | Montdidier | France |
28th Regiment of the First Army | Battle of Cantigny | Details |
| Château-Thierry American Monument | Château-Thierry | France |
U.S. and French soldiers | Aisne-Marne Offensive and Oise-Aisne Offensive | Details |
| Chaumont AEF Headquarters Marker | Chaumont | France |
American Expeditionary Forces led by General Pershing | Headquarters of the AEF, September 1, 1917, to July 11, 1919 | Details |
| Kemmel American Monument | Ypres | Belgium |
27th and 30th Divisions of the II Corps | Ypres-Lys Offensive August 18 to September 4, 1918 |
Details |
| Meuse-Argonne American Memorial | Verdun | France |
First Army and Second Army | Meuse-Argonne Offensive September 26, 1918, to November 11, 1918 |
Details |
| Montsec American Monument | Saint-Mihiel | France |
First Army Second Army |
September 12–16, 1918 November 9–11 |
Details |
| Naval Monument at Brest | Brest | France |
the naval forces of the United States and France during World War I | Headquarters of the United States and French navies | Details |
| Naval Monument at Gibraltar | Straits of Gibraltar |  Gibraltar |
U.S. Navy and British Royal Navy for major victories | August 1917–November 11, 1918 | Details |
| Sommepy American Monument | Sainte-Menehould | France |
70,000 troops who drove the German army back north of the Aisne River: 42nd Division 369th, 371st, and 372nd Infantry Regiments 2nd and 36th Divisions 36th Division |
July 15–18, 1918 September 26-October 8 September 29-October 28 October 11–October 27 |
Details |
| Souilly American Headquarters Marker | Souilly | France |
Marking the headquarters of the First Army during the last few months of the war | Meuse-Argonne Offensive | Details |
| Tours American Monument | Tours | France |
24,000 civilians of the Services of Supply and 645,000 soldiers of the American Expeditionary Forces | *Constructed almost 1,000 miles of railway tracks;
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Details |
| World War II | |||||
| Battle of the Bulge Monument | Bastogne | Belgium |
U.S. soldiers wounded or killed in the Battle of the Bulge | Battle of the Bulge | Details |
| Cabanatuan American Memorial | Cabanatuan | Philippines |
U.S. and Filipino victims of the Bataan Death March and Cabanatuan internment camps | Details | |
| East Coast Memorial for the Missing | New York City |  United States |
4,611 U.S. sailors and service members lost in the Atlantic Ocean during the war | Battle of the Atlantic | Details |
| Guadalcanal American Memorial | Guadalcanal |  Solomon Islands |
U.S. soldiers and allies who died in the Battle of Guadalcanal | Guadalcanal Campaign | Details |
| Honolulu Memorial | Honolulu, Hawaii | United States |
Dedicated to the 18,096 U.S. World War II soldiers missing from the Pacific (excluding those from the southwest Pacific), 8,200 missing from the Korean War, and 2,504 from the Vietnam War | Details | |
| Pointe du Hoc American Monument | Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer | France |
Second Ranger Battalion members who on June 6, 1944, scaled the 100 ft (30 m) cliff of Pointe du Hoc and seized German artillery that could have fired on the U.S. troops landing at Omaha and Utah beaches. | D-Day | Details |
| Papua American Marker | Papua |  Papua New Guinea |
U.S. soldiers who fought in Southwest Pacific theatre | South West Pacific theatre of World War II | Details |
| Saipan American Memorial | Saipan |  Northern Mariana Islands |
U.S. marines and soldiers (24,000) and Chamorro who died during the liberation of the Mariana Islands during World War II | Mariana and Palau Islands campaign | Details |
| Utah Beach American Monument | Ste-Marie-du-Mont | France |
VII Corps members who liberated the Cotentin Peninsula | Battle of Cherbourg | Details |
| West Coast Memorial to the Missing | San Francisco | United States |
417 U.S. sailors and service members lost in the Pacific Ocean theater | Pacific Ocean theater of World War II | Details |
| Western Naval Task Force Marker | Casablanca |  Morocco |
U.S. Western Task Force soldiers who made the first transoceanic amphibious operation | Operation Torch | Details |
| Korean War | |||||
| United Nations Memorial Cemetery | Busan |  South Korea |
U.S. service members who fought in the Korean War | Korean War | Details |
See also
Other national war graves commissions
- Austria – Austrian Black Cross (Austrian War graves on the Vienna Central cemetery are still looked after by German War Graves Commission)
- France – Ministère de la Défense
- Germany – German War Graves Commission
- Netherlands – Oorlogsgravenstichting (Dutch Wikipedia)
- Russia – Association of War Memorials
- United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa – Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)
