Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial

About

The American cemetery of Saint-Avold, or Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial, is an American military cemetery located in Saint-Avold, a commune in the Moselle department in northeastern France. It is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

With 10,489 graves, it is the American cemetery in Europe with the largest number of soldiers killed during the Second World War. Established to accommodate the remains of the American victims of the Second World War, most of whom died during the conquest of the Rhine, it is spread over an area of forty-six hectares divided into nine symmetrical parts. The free enjoyment of the land was granted to the United States Government in perpetuity by the French Government. As in many military cemeteries, graves vary according to the religion of the soldiers buried there, notably distinguishing two types of emblems, the Latin cross for the deceased Christians (protestants for the majority of them) and David's star for those of Jewish religion. The steles are made of marble extracted from the quarries of Lasa, in Tuscany, and affixed according to...