Memorial Day 29 May 2023

[HARDCORE]

5-28-2023

The blood, sweat, tears, toil and pain, of those who served and who also died, in service to

“Our Great Nation”, cannot (and must not) ever be forgotten by those of us who yet live -

because of their sacrifices, their courage, their élan, their bloodshed – “Or Even Their Very

Existence Itself!”

“FOR THESE WERE ‘AND ARE’ TRULY AMERICA’S FINEST!”

Hardcore

[Boats]

U.S. troops who lost their lives in WWII honored in France
By: Michael Abrams - Star's & Stripe's News 05-28-23
Re: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/eur...-10261304.html

Photo link: https://www.stripes.com/incoming/ebt...DAYphoto07.jpg
A U.S. Army firing detail participates at the Memorial Day ceremony at Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France, May 28, 2023. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)

ST. AVOLD, France – American and French citizens paid tribute Sunday to the 10,481 people buried at Lorraine American Cemetery and to mark Memorial Day at the largest World War II cemetery in Europe.

The ceremony in the rolling hills of eastern France was hosted by the American Battle Monuments Commission, which runs the cemetery and is marking its centennial, and drew hundreds of people.

Active-duty participants from the Army, Navy and Air Force and cadets from the Stuttgart High School Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program participated in the ceremony that featured speeches, a wreath laying, a flyover by a C-130 aircraft, firing of volleys and the playing of taps.

“The more than 10,000 buried here were the best of their generation,” said Maj. Gen. Steph Maranian, commander of 56th Artillery Command, noting the sacrifices service members made then and continue to make.

2nd photo link: https://www.stripes.com/incoming/2iq...DAYphoto05.jpg
Maj. Gen. Steph Maranian, commander of 56th Artillery Command, lays a wreath at the Memorial Day ceremony at Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France, May 28, 2023. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)

Sacrifice was a common theme among those speaking at the event.

Denise Bauer, U.S. ambassador to France and Monaco, said “they left their families to fight for liberty and doing so, they sacrificed their tomorrows for ours and their dreams for our future.”

She also observed after speaking of those buried at the cemetery: “Today, we are reminded again, by the war in Ukraine, that freedom is not free, and democracy is not guaranteed.”

Walking among the rows of white crosses and Stars of David following the ceremony, Norman Matzke, a retired lieutenant colonel and the Stuttgart JROTC senior Army instructor, said it’s a tradition for cadets to attend. “It is important to bring them here and let them be involved. It is what Memorial Day is all about.”

“Before I came here, I didn’t know what it was all about,” Cadet 2nd Lt. Marek Lavato said. “All the people who sacrificed themselves for their country. It is important to come here and see it.”

About this writer: Mikael Abrams is a photographer in Kaiserslautern, Germany. He has covered stories for Stripes throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan. Born in Peoria, Ill., he graduated from DODEA’s now-defunct Frankfurt American High School.
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Personal note: It's not to say we remember those who've died in all wars
regardless of where they are in-turned (or buried). There are many such
site's all around the globe where U.S .Solidiers are buried.
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I've notified those folks who know me that I wish to be cremated and
my ash's to be place at an local military site. No fancy anything just
put them in the ground and I will rest in peace - thereafter!
[Wife wants to be cremated and buried alongside her Mother no
problem - it will be done - by me - or one of my two Daughter/s as
they've been told by us that this is our wishes.]
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I'd thought about being tossed over the side at sea but this will
work just the same. Dead is Dead - no reincarnations to follow!
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