Memorial Day
As Americans, formal remembrance of our war dead sprung from the profound losses of our Civil War, with more than 600,000 servicemen lost. The first organized Memorial Day, then called "Decoration Day," was held May 1, 1865. On that day, communities in the North and the South honored fallen war heroes by closing businesses, flying flags at half staff and draping headstones in cemeteries with flowers in memory and recognition of those who fought and died.
From Korea and the Cold War to more recent conflicts in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Libya, the men and women of the U.S. European Command have fought around the globe during the command's 60-year history to protect the United States and her allies.
Well before EUCOM was ever established, U.S. servicemen and women fought and died in the European theater. In fact, more than 100,000 of them are buried on European soil and will be remembered at ceremonies hosted by the American Battle Monuments Commission at 20 American cemeteries located in France, Belgium, Italy, England, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
2012 European Location Ceremony Schedule:
Saturday, May 26
10 a.m. - Ardennes American Cemetery, Neuville en Condroz, Belgium
11 a.m. - Lafayette Escadrille Memorial, Paris, France
1 p.m. - Luxembourg American Cemetery, Hamm, Luxembourg
4 p.m. - Henri Chapelle American Cemetery, Aubel, Belgium
Sunday, May 27
9:45 a.m. - Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, Belleau, France
10 a.m. - Rhone American Cemetery, Draguignan, France
10:30 a.m. - Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville Sur Mere, France
11 a.m. - Lorraine American Cemetery, Saint-Avold, France
2:30 p.m. - Suresnes American Cemetery, Suresnes, France
3 p.m. - Epinal American Cemetery, Dinoze, France
3 p.m. - Brookwood American Cemetery, Brookwood, England
3 p.m. - Somme American Cemetery, Bony, France
3 p.m. - Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Romagne-Sous Montfaucon, France
3 p.m. - Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, Seringes Et Nesles, France
3 p.m. - Flanders Field American Cemetery, Waregem, Belgium
3 p.m. - Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands
4 p.m. - Brittany American Cemetery, Saint James, France
4 p.m. - Saint-Mihiel American Cemetery, Thiacourt, France
6:30 p.m. - Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France
Monday, May 28
11 a.m. - Florence American Cemetery, Florence, Italy
11 a.m. - Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy
11 a.m. - Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, England
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