Just outside Luxembourg City, close to the airport in the suburb Hamm, is the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. It is one of 24 cemeteries on foreign soil maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission for soldiers of the United States of America who died while serving abroad.
- The best-known American soldier buried in Luxembourg is General George S. Patton (1885-1945) who died shortly after the Second World War on December 21, 1945 following a car accident in Germany.
The Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial in Hamm
The 50.5-acre Luxembourg American Cemetery has the graves of 5,076 American soldiers who died during World War II. Most of these men – only one woman is buried here – died during the famous Battle of the Bulge. The cemetery also has the graves of soldiers who died in fighting to the west of the Rhine as well as during air raids. 101 graves are for unidentified soldiers.
- The Battle of the Bulge is the popular name for what is officially according to the US Army the Battle of the Ardennes. The German army referred to it as Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein (Operation Watch on the Rhine). The battle was fought from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945 and officially caused 80,987 American, around 1,400 British, and 84,834 German casualties.
The Luxembourg American Cemetery has the usual and appropriate calm peacefulness that is common to American World War cemeteries in Europe. Graves are marked by simple white crosses set orderly in meticulously maintained lawns. The gravestones of the 118 Jewish soldier buried here have a Star of David shape.
A small chapel is available for prayers and silent reflection. Pylons and bronze epitaphs have maps and explanations of the battles as well as the names of 371 American soldiers missing in action.
- The grave of General George S. Patton is marked by a simple white cross similar to that of other soldiers buried here. Originally amongst the other graves, his was moved to between the two flagstaffs as the high number of visitors caused damage to the grass around his and other soldiers’ graves.
Getting to the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial in Hamm
Although peacefully located in the Bois de Hamm forest, the Luxembourg American Cemetery can very easily be reached by car or bus from the airport or downtown.
- By Car to the Luxembourg American Cemetery
- From Autobahn A1, use exit 7, which leads to a large traffic circle roundabout called Rond Pont Robert Schaffner. Exit on the N2 Route de Remich towards Remich and Saarbrücken. The first street to the right is Allee Dwight D Eisenhower, which leads directly to the American Cemetery.
- From Luxembourg Airport, follow Route de Tréves towards the A1 and continue from Pont Robert Schaffner as described above.
- From Luxembourg downtown, follow directions to the airport and continue as above from the traffic circle.
- By Bus to the Luxembourg American Cemetery
From Monday to Saturday, Bus 8 runs once per hour from the Gare Central Alfa to the U.S. Military Cemetery in just less than 20 minutes. Bus line 8 has up to three buses per hour but only the buses leaving the Gare Central at 28 minutes past the hour go all the way to the cemetery. These buses display “Hamm/US Military Cemetery” rather than “Hamm/rue de Bitbourg” as final destination.
- The first bus is at 9:28 am and final bus at 3:28 pm. Return buses run between 9:52 am and 3:52 pm. On Sunday and vacation days, buses are less frequent.
Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. It is only closed on December 25 and January 1. Admission is free and personnel are available to assist visitors in finding specific gravestones.
- The Luxembourg American Cemetery is visited annually by around 150,000 people of whom just less than half are from the United States.
Luxembourg has a long military tradition as is born out by other sights such as the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Listed fortifications and the German military graveyard in Sandweiler on the opposite side of the airport from the American cemetery. Several transportation options are available when traveling to Luxembourg including flights and fast train services from many European cities and regions.
Henk Bekker - Henk Bekker is a freelance travel writer currently living on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
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