Best American Cemeteries to visit in Begium, Netherlands and Eastern France

Ardennes (WW2, Battle of the Bulge)) and Meuse-Argonne (WW1) are two of the many American Battle Monuments Cemeteries located in northeastern France and Belgium. Here's a map showing the others in that area: http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/maps/efrance.htm You mentioned western Germany: AFAIK, there are no American Battle Monuments Cemeteries in Germany.

I wouldn't use the word "best" (what makes one cemetery better than another?), but one definitely worth visiting is outside of Epinal (about an hour west of Colmar on the other side of the Vosges mountains). It sits in a quiet valley surrounded by forested hills. While the more well-known cemetery in Normandy gets all the attention and bus loads of tourists, this pristine burial ground sees barely a trickle of visitors. Judging from the guest book, most of them are French. My wife and I went there last May to pay respects to a relative of mine who's grave had not been visited by any family members in over 50 years. We had the entire grounds to ourselves.

Good thoughts shared by Tom and James: visiting the cemeteries and graves that aren't on the "best" list and don't get that many visits; and visiting a war cemetery of another country.

"for the loss of so many."
This thread made me curious, so I did a quick check on Google and it looks like about 100 million people were killed in WW1 and WW2. Not all in Europe, obviously. Many were non-combatants. They are buried all over the world.

.....and many were not burried anywhere - - war sucks.

If interested in visiting a non-American War cemetery, to me the German 'Friedhof' in Vladslo (Diksmuide, Western-Belgium) is one of the most touching places that I know. It's approach however is far away from the way American, English, French or Belgian War Memorials are generally conceived. http://www.ww1westernfront.gov.au/vladslo/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladslo_German_war_cemetery

The Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, near Maastricht, is another lesser known cemetery. It is in a beautiful setting and is very moving. When we visited we talked with several local families who have "adopted" the graves, and this is handed down through the generations. Of course, the US government maintains the cemetery, but these families visit the graves, especially on special days such as the soldier's birthday, out of respect for the liberation of their country. Each younger generation as it comes along is taught this custom and accepts it willingly. Talking with these families brought tears to my eyes.

Kathy, I have been to a good number of these poignant sites in Germany and France, a few of which I'll mention here, especially in northern France in the Nord Pas-de-Calais and Somme area, such as a big for the British at Beaumont-Hamel (WW I), Franco-British military cemetery at Chateau-Thierry; if you are driving, drive around in the Nord Pas-de Calais region...the area is dotted with them, villages and towns like Albert (Somme), Cambrai, Frevent, St Pol. will have WW I cemeteries. In Germany for WWII if you want to see the Ger. military cemetery, go to the Reichswald not far from Kleve in the lower Rhine area...I saw this in 1989, another Ger one is at Wesel (WWI and II), near Düsseldorf. I recommend Berlin..you're not going there? The most famous and oldest Prussian military cemetery is within walking distance from the Hauptbahnhof...the Invalidenfriedhof (part of it WWI ), and then there's Berlin Treptow, where the Soviets are buried. Drive eastwards from Berlin towards Küstrin an der Oder to get to Seelow Höhen (Heights), the battlefield site plus graves. You want three recommendations...Notre Dame de Lorette (WWI in Pas-de-Calais, Fr.), Reichswald (WW II, Ger), the Meuse-Argonne (WWI, USA), ca. 30 mins from Verdun.

Check out this site about Saint-Chappelle in Belgium. In the "Stories" section are personal accounts of soldiers buried there and elsewhere. http://www.in-honored-glory.info/

We were guests at a wonderfully touching ceremony in the Flanders Field American cemetery during Memorial weekend a few years back. It's a beautifully kept cemetery in a residential area. There's so many to see. Visit the American Battle Monuments commission website for a lot of good info.

I would strongly second Tom from Huttenfeld's recommendation of Epinal. I too visited it because of a relative being buried there (30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division). It is just a beautiful place, and little visited. Over 5,000 American heroes are buried there. And I would also second James's recommendation of Hamm, Luxembourg. Seeing Gen. Patton's grave at the top of the slope, facing his men, was a great experience. There is also a WWII German cemetery just down the road, definitely worth seeing too.

Thank you ALL for your comments and suggestions. Many of you seemed moved by your experiences at the cemeteries. I enjoyed your stories very much. Several years ago I visited the American and German cemetery in Normandy. Both beautiful and both so different. I'll never forget the overwhelming sadness I felt for the loss of so many. I wasn't prepared. This time I would like to either place flowers or American flags on some of the graves. Is that something that is encouraged or discouraged?

Check with the curator .

abmc.gov and 'services' has a little scoop about floral decorations

I will strongly vouch for the American Military Cemetary in Hamm, Luxembourg. It was overwhelming and immaculately maintained. The huge,decorative entrance gate is impressive as well. There are over a hundred Jewish soldiers and several sets of brothers buried there, I believe 5000+ total. And Patton's marble cross is overlooking the rest of the graves in a fan design. And I was there on a cold,rainy, windy day in Dec. The German military cemetary is at Sandweiler, about 1 km away. Not as well maintained but I remember there are over 10,000 dead there, some multiple burials under single crosses. I vividly remember and I took a photo of, an enormous bouquet of yellow roses with a ribbon across it that said, U.S. Embassy. I will always remember visiting these 2 cemetaries.

An overlooked cemetery (WWI & WWII) in a beautiful setting overlooking Paris is the Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial. It's NOT in NE France, but I'm mentioning it anyway. It's in the town of Suresnes, which is ~5 miles west of Paris (just west of the Bois de Boulogne) and perfectly situated on a train route (~15 mins from Gare St-Lazare, ~$4 one-way). Once you're 'walked' from the train station to the cemetery using Google Street View, you'll be hooked. At the risk of sounding crass, and of course it's not meant that way, how many cemeteries come with a view of the Eiffel Tower? Pack a picnic; there are so many parks surrounding the cemetery (again, go play in Street View). If you're in fairly good shape physically, you can walk from the train station to the front gate. As mentioned earlier, there are WAY too many of these cemeteries...Many people twist-up their precious sight-seeing time in Paris just to get to Colleville-sur-Mer, thinking it's THE 'American Cemetery', when (unfortunately) one is just a 15 min train ride away...and each country involved has their own 'string-of-pearls' of war cemeteries.