The Netherlands American Cemetery, The Faces of Margraten, May 2, 2015.

 

Rows, endless rows of white marble crosses and stars of David. This is what one sees when overlooking the American War Cemetery and Memorial Netherlands in Margraten, the Netherlands. 8,301 American soldiers have been buried in this cemetery; another 1,722 names are listed on the Walls of the Missing. We do know the names of all these men and women, but who were they? Where did they come from and what did their lives look like prior to World War II?

The Stichting Verenigde Adoptanten Amerikaanse Oorlogsgraven (Foundation United Adopters American War Graves) hopes to make a unique tribute to the men and women buried there by trying to give as many names of the soldiers buried in or memorialized at the Margraten Cemetery as possible a face, by decorating their graves or names on the Walls of the Missing with a personal photo through the project "The Faces of Margraten" during a Memorial week once every two years.