American Cemetery & Memorial

Luxembourg American Cemetery
Luxembourg American Cemetery

Just outside Luxembourg City is one of the largest American military cemeteries I have visited in Europe. Luxembourg American Cemetery contains the graves of more than 5,000 American service members, many of whom died during the Battle of the Bulge and the Allied advance toward Germany during the final months of World War II.

The cemetery was established in December 1944 while fighting was still taking place nearby. General George S. Patton’s Third Army operated from Luxembourg during the campaign, and Patton himself would eventually be buried here alongside the men he commanded.

Walking through thousands of nearly identical white crosses, I started paying attention to the home states engraved on the markers. These men had come from every corner of the United States and somehow ended up together in this small country thousands of miles from home. I decided to find and photograph at least one service member from every U.S. state that existed during World War II, along with Washington, D.C., and Hawaii.

What follows isn’t meant to make one grave more important than another. Each photograph represents one American among thousands buried here. Seeing the states one after another made the scale of the war feel much more personal to me than simply reading a casualty number.

Americans From Across the Country

Alabama

Grave of John Campbell of Alabama at Luxembourg American Cemetery
John Campbell — January 9, 1945

Arkansas

Grave of James Butler of Arkansas at Luxembourg American Cemetery
James Butler — December 31, 1944

Arizona

Grave of Bearl Mitchell of Arizona at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Bearl Mitchell — March 6, 1945

California

Grave of General George S. Patton Jr. at Luxembourg American Cemetery
General George S. Patton Jr. — December 21, 1945

California happened to be represented by the most famous person buried here, General George S. Patton Jr. Patton commanded the U.S. Third Army during the fighting in this region and played a major role in the Allied response to the Battle of the Bulge. He survived the war but died in December 1945 following injuries from a vehicle accident in Germany. He was buried here among the soldiers who had served under his command.

Colorado

Grave of Cecil Mobley of Colorado at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Cecil Mobley — December 27, 1944

Connecticut

Grave of Stanley Kulpinske of Connecticut at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Stanley Kulpinske — March 20, 1945

Washington, D.C.

Grave of Thomas Roberts of Washington DC at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Thomas Roberts — March 6, 1945

Delaware

Grave of Walter Moore of Delaware at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Walter Moore — March 15, 1945

Florida

Grave of Theodore Barthle of Florida at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Theodore Barthle — February 14, 1945

Georgia

Grave of Charles Kinsey of Georgia at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Charles Kinsey — March 6, 1945

Hawaii

Grave of Samuel Lua of Hawaii at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Samuel Lua — February 15, 1945

Idaho

Grave of Lawrence Briscoe of Idaho at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Lawrence Briscoe — February 19, 1945

Illinois

Grave of Harold Marsh of Illinois at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Harold Marsh — February 19, 1945

Indiana

Grave of Medal of Honor recipient William McGee of Indiana
William McGee — March 19, 1945

Private William McGee was one of the Medal of Honor recipients I came across while doing this project. During a night crossing of the Moselle River, two American soldiers were badly wounded inside a minefield. McGee entered the minefield on his own, carried one wounded man toward safety and returned for the second. He then stepped on a mine himself. Despite being mortally wounded, he warned the other soldiers not to enter the minefield to save him and risk more lives. His grave was one of the markers that made me stop looking at this simply as a fifty-state photography project and think more about the individual stories behind the names.

Iowa

Grave of Loren Turbett of Iowa at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Loren Turbett — January 18, 1945

Kansas

Grave of Robert Oberst of Kansas at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Robert Oberst — March 16, 1945

Kentucky

Grave of Arnold Brown of Kentucky at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Arnold Brown — January 18, 1945

Louisiana

Grave of Erving Pedigo of Louisiana at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Erving Pedigo — January 4, 1945

Maine

Grave of Camillo Matarazzo of Maine at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Camillo Matarazzo — December 23, 1944

Maryland

Grave of Michael Hyduke of Maryland at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Michael Hyduke — March 11, 1945

Massachusetts

Grave of Ange Roy of Massachusetts at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Ange Roy — March 15, 1945

Michigan

Grave of Bernard Janes of Michigan at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Bernard Janes — March 20, 1945

Minnesota

Grave of Harold Davidson of Minnesota at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Harold Davidson — February 12, 1945

Mississippi

Grave of Loyd Hall of Mississippi at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Loyd Hall — December 17, 1944

Missouri

Grave of Sterling Ward of Missouri at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Sterling Ward — December 29, 1944

Montana

Grave of Edward Orr of Montana at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Edward Orr — January 21, 1945

Nebraska

Grave of Julius Okrzesa of Nebraska at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Julius Okrzesa — December 22, 1945

Nevada

Grave of Richard Ortlieb of Nevada at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Richard Ortlieb — March 14, 1945

New Hampshire

Grave of Roland Brassard of New Hampshire at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Roland Brassard — February 21, 1945

New Jersey

Grave of Nelson Simmons of New Jersey at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Nelson Simmons — December 28, 1944

New Mexico

Grave of Cletis Horner of New Mexico at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Cletis Horner — April 9, 1944

New York

Grave of Ferdinando Marro of New York at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Ferdinando Marro — February 7, 1945

North Carolina

Grave of James Leonard of North Carolina at Luxembourg American Cemetery
James Leonard — January 27, 1945

North Dakota

Grave of Thomas White of North Dakota at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Thomas White — November 26, 1944

Ohio

Grave of Howard Cowan of Ohio at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Howard Cowan — January 8, 1945

Oklahoma

Grave of Enoch McGahly of Oklahoma at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Enoch McGahly — January 18, 1945

Oregon

Grave of Albert Vandersee of Oregon at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Albert Vandersee — December 25, 1944

Pennsylvania

Grave of Medal of Honor recipient Day Turner of Pennsylvania
Day Turner — February 8, 1945

Sergeant Day Turner is another Medal of Honor recipient buried here. Turner commanded a nine-man squad defending an exposed position when a much larger German force attacked. His men withdrew into a building and continued fighting despite repeated attacks, artillery and tank fire. Turner fought from room to room even after much of his squad had been wounded and his ammunition was exhausted. After roughly four hours, the surviving Americans forced the attacking enemy soldiers to surrender. Turner was killed several weeks later in February 1945.

Rhode Island

Grave of Frank Lesowske of Rhode Island at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Frank Lesowske — May 7, 1945

South Carolina

Grave of James Spring of South Carolina at Luxembourg American Cemetery
James Spring — January 22, 1945

South Dakota

Grave of Harley Porter of South Dakota at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Harley Porter — February 11, 1945

Tennessee

Grave of Aldon Barnes of Tennessee at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Aldon Barnes — March 29, 1945

Texas

Grave of Daniel Anderson of Texas at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Daniel Anderson — January 3, 1945

Utah

Grave of Gordon Swan of Utah at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Gordon Swan — January 19, 1945

Vermont

Grave of Charles Lawrence of Vermont at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Charles Lawrence — January 20, 1945

Virginia

Grave of Richard Garber of Virginia at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Richard Garber — January 15, 1945

Washington

Grave of Wayne Morris of Washington at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Wayne Morris — February 17, 1945

West Virginia

Grave of Willard Vaught of West Virginia at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Willard Vaught — March 18, 1945

Wisconsin

Grave of Robert Massonet of Wisconsin at Luxembourg American Cemetery
Robert Massonet — January 18, 1945

Wyoming

Grave of William Witt of Wyoming at Luxembourg American Cemetery
William Witt — March 18, 1945

More Than a List of States

By the time I finished walking through the cemetery, the state project had changed the way I looked at the rows of graves. At first I was searching for words engraved on the bottom of the crosses: Virginia, Texas, Oregon, Hawaii, Maine. Eventually those states became reminders of just how far these men had traveled and how many different communities across America were affected by the war.

The dates stood out to me as well. So many of these men died only days apart during the winter of 1944 and the first months of 1945. Others survived almost until the end of the war. Whatever their individual stories were, they now rest together here in Luxembourg.

Memorial chapel inside Luxembourg American Cemetery
Inside the Luxembourg American Cemetery Memorial Chapel

The memorial chapel overlooks the cemetery and the thousands of white crosses below. After spending so much time reading individual names, dates and home states, the inscription inside felt much more meaningful than it probably would have when I first arrived: these weren’t simply thousands of identical markers spread across a lawn. Every one represented a person who had once lived somewhere back home.

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American Cemetery & Memorial • in Mullerthal • Luxembourg City • Vianden

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