American Battle Monuments Commission

The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) is a small independent agency of the United States government

Independent agencies of the United States government

Independent agencies of the United States federal government are those agencies that exist outside of the federal executive departments...

. Established by Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

in 1923, it is responsible for:

Commemorating the services of the U.S. armed forces
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...

where they have served since April 6, 1917 (the date of U.S. entry into World War I)
Establishing suitable memorial shrines
War memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...

; designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining permanent American military burial grounds
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

in foreign countries
Controlling the design and construction of U.S. military monuments and markers in foreign countries by other U.S. citizens and organizations, both public and private
Encouraging the maintenance of such monuments and markers by their sponsors

The Commission administers, operates, and maintains 24 permanent American burial grounds on foreign soil. As of May 2006, there are 124,917 U.S. war dead interred at these cemeteries: 30,921 of World War I, 93,246 of World War II and 750 of the Mexican-American War. An additional 6,033 American veterans and others are interred in the Mexico City National Cemetery

Mexico City National Cemetery

The Mexico City National Cemetery is a cemetery in Mexico City. It was established in 1851 by the United States Congress to gather the American dead of the Mexican-American War that lay in the nearby fields and to provide burial space for Americans who died in the vicinity. A small monument marks...

and Corozal American Cemetery and Memorial

Corozal American Cemetery and Memorial

Corozal American Cemetery and Memorial is located approximately 3 miles north from Panama City, Panama in the city of Corozal and is the location of 5,336 American veterans and others. A paved walk leads from the Visitor Center to a small memorial that sits atop a knoll overlooking the graves area...

Complete sortable list of ABMC cemeteries

Cemetery	Country	Conflict	Web	Video	Booklet	Coordinates Geographic coordinate system A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on the Earth to be specified by a set of numbers. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represent vertical position, and two or three of the numbers represent horizontal position...
Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial The Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial is a World War I cemetery in Belleau, Northern France. It is at the foot of the hill where the Battle of Belleau Wood was fought, with many American fatalities...	France	World War I	Link	.wmv	.pdf	49°4′46.02"N 3°17′29.16"E
Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial The Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial is home to the graves of 5,329 members of the United States military who died in World War II. It is one of fourteen cemeteries for American World War II dead on foreign soil, and is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission...	Belgium	World War II	Link	.wmv	.pdf	50°32′50.75"N 5°27′55.55"E
Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial The Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Saint-James, Normandy, France, near the northeastern edge of Brittany. It contains the remains of 4,410 of World War II American soldiers, most of whom lost their lives in the Normandy and Brittany campaigns of 1944. Along the retaining wall...	France	World War II	Link	.wmv	.pdf	48°31′11.6"N 1°18′6.2"W
Brookwood American Cemetery and Memorial Brookwood American Cemetery and Memorial Brookwood American Cemetery and Memorial is the only American Military Cemetery of World War I in the British Isles. Located approximately southwest of London, Brookwood American Cemetery contains the graves of 468 American war dead, including the graves of 41 unknown servicemen, from World War...	United Kingdom	World War I	Link	.wmv	None	51°18′5"N 0°38′22.9"W
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial -External links:**...	United Kingdom	World War II	Link	.wmv	.pdf	52°13.020′N 0°03.320′E
Corozal American Cemetery and Memorial Corozal American Cemetery and Memorial Corozal American Cemetery and Memorial is located approximately 3 miles north from Panama City, Panama in the city of Corozal and is the location of 5,336 American veterans and others. A paved walk leads from the Visitor Center to a small memorial that sits atop a knoll overlooking the graves area...	Panama Panama Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...	Panama Canal	Link	.wmv		8°59′28"N 79°34′14.2"W
Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial is a United States military cemetery in Dinozé, France. The site rests on a plateau above the Moselle River in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains...	France	World War II	Link	.wmv	.pdf	48°8′37.14"N 6°29′31.02"E
Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial	Belgium	World War I	Link	.wmv	.pdf	50°52′25.14"N 3°27′8.28"E
Florence American Cemetery and Memorial Florence American Cemetery and Memorial The Florence American Cemetery and Memorial is about 7.5 miles south of Florence, Italy, about two miles south of the Certosa-Florence exit of the Rome-Milan autoroute...	Italy	World War II	Link	.wmv	.pdf	43°41′31.4"N 11°12′40.2"E
Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial The Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial contains the graves of 7,992 members of the American military who died in World War II. It is one of fourteen cemeteries for American World War II dead on foreign soil, and is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission...	Belgium	World War II	Link	.wmv	.pdf	50°41′50.58"N 5°53′54.48"E
Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial The Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial, is located just outside of Saint-Avold, Moselle, France. It covers and contains the largest number of graves of any American World War II cemetery in Europe. Those interred died mostly in the autumn of 1944 during the Drive to the Siegfried Line and...	France	World War II	Link	.wmv	.pdf	49°7′18.12"N 6°42′52.32"E
Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial The Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. The cemetery can be found 2.5 kilometers southwest of Findel Airport. It is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission...	Luxembourg Luxembourg Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...	World War II	Link	.wmv	.pdf	49°36′42"N 06°11′08"E
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial Manila American Cemetery and Memorial The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City in Metro Manila, Philippines.The cemetery, or 615,000 square metres in area, is located on a prominent plateau, visible at a distance from the east, south and west. With a total of 17,206 graves, it is the largest...	Philippines Philippines The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...	World War II	Link	.wmv	.pdf	14°32′39.7"N 121°2′55.2"E
Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial The Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial is a World War I cemetery in France. It is located east of the village of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon in Meuse. The cemetery contains the largest number of American military dead in Europe , most of whom lost their lives during the Meuse-Argonne...	France	World War I	Link	.wmv	.pdf	49°20′2.64"N 5°5′22.56"E
Mexico City National Cemetery Mexico City National Cemetery The Mexico City National Cemetery is a cemetery in Mexico City. It was established in 1851 by the United States Congress to gather the American dead of the Mexican-American War that lay in the nearby fields and to provide burial space for Americans who died in the vicinity. A small monument marks...	Mexico	Mexican War	Link	.wmv	None	19°26′31.3"N 99°9′58.2"W
Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial	Netherlands	World War II	Link	.wmv	.pdf	50°49′15.4"N 5°48′13.1"E
Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial	France	World War II	Link	.wmv	.pdf	49°21′37"N 0°51′26"W
North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial The North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial, or NAAC, is a cemetery located at Carthage, Tunisia, where 2,841 United States military casualties are interred...	Tunisia Tunisia Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...	World War II	Link	.wmv	.pdf	36°51′55.5"N 10°19′46.3"E
Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial	France	World War I	Link	.wmv	.pdf	49°12′8"N 3°32′53.3"E
Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial The Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial is an American war cemetery in Southern France, memorializing American soldiers and mariners who died in Second World War operations in that area. The cemetery covers within the city of Draguignan. The cemetery is named for the Rhone river and its...	France	World War II	Link	.wmv	.pdf	43°32′10.1"N 6°28′22.7"E
Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial is a cemetery for American military personnel who were killed in World War II. Established as a temporary wartime cemetery on 24 January 1944, in Nettuno, two days after the landing at Anzio and Nettuno, codenamed Operation Shingle, the site in Italy...	Italy	World War II	Link	.wmv	.pdf	41°27′55.08"N 12°39′30.18"E
Somme American Cemetery and Memorial Somme American Cemetery and Memorial Somme American Cemetery and Memorial in France is sited in the commune of Bony, on a gentle slope typical of the open, rolling Picardy countryside, in northern France. The cemetery contains the graves of 1,844 of the United States' military dead from World War I. Most lost their lives while...	France	World War I	Link	.wmv	.pdf	49°59′6.18"N 3°12′47.88"E
St. Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial St. Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial The St. Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial in France, in extent, contains the graves of 4,153 of American military dead from World War I. The majority of these died in the offensive that resulted in the reduction of the St. Mihiel salient that threatened Paris. The burial area is divided by...	France	World War I	Link	.wmv	.pdf	48°57′25.14"N 5°51′11.04"E
Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial The Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial is a United States military cemetery in the Suresnes , France. It is located in a suburb of Paris on the southeastern slope of the hill below Fort Mont Valerien. Originally a World War I cemetery, it now shelters the remains of U.S. dead of both wars...	France	World War I	Link	.wmv	.pdf	48°52′18.84"N 2°13′7.56"E

Complete sortable list of ABMC monuments

Monument	Country	Nearest town	Conflict	Web
Audenarde American Monument	Belgium	Oudenaarde Oudenaarde Oudenaarde is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of Bevere, Edelare, Eine, Ename, Heurne, Leupegem, Mater, Melden, Mullem, Nederename, Welden, Volkegem and a part of Ooike.From the 15th to the 18th...	World War I	Link
Belleau Wood American Monument	France	Belleau Belleau, Aisne Belleau is a commune in the department of Aisne in Picardy in northern France.-Population:-See also:Communes of the Aisne departmentBattle of Belleau WoodThe Marine MemorialAisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial...	World War I	Link
Bellicourt American Monument	France	St. Quentin Saint-Quentin, Aisne Saint-Quentin is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France. It has been identified as the Augusta Veromanduorum of antiquity. It is named after Saint Quentin, who is said to have been martyred here in the 3rd century....	World War I	Link
Cabanatuan American Memorial	Philippines Philippines The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...	Cabanatuan City Cabanatuan City The City of Cabanatuan is a first class, urban city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. It is considered the commercial, industrial and educational hub of the province. According to the latest census, it has a population of 259,267 people in 45,424 households which makes it the largest...	World War II	Link
Cantigny American Monument	France	Montdidier Montdidier, Somme Montdidier is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Montdidier is situated on the D935 road, some 30 km southeast of Amiens, in the region known as the ‘Santerre’.-Population:-History:...	World War I	Link
Chateau-Thierry American Monument Chateau-Thierry American Monument The Château-Thierry American Monument is a World War I memorial, located near Château-Thierry, Aisne, France.- Situation :The memorial is situated upon Hill 204 and commands a wide view of the valley of the Marne River. It is located about east of Paris, southeast of the Aisne-Marne American...	France	Château-Thierry Château-Thierry Château-Thierry is a commune in northern France about east-northeast of Paris. It is a sub-prefecture of the Aisne department in Picardy.-History:...	World War I	Link
Chaumont AEF Headquarters Marker	France	Chaumont Chaumont, Haute-Marne Chaumont is a commune of France, and the capital of the Haute-Marne department. , it has a of 24,039.The city stands on the Marne River and is situated on the railway linking Paris and Basel, which runs over a 52 m tall and 600 m long viaduct built in 1856.- History :Historically the...	World War I	Link
East Coast Memorial East Coast Memorial The East Coast Memorial is a World War II war memorial in Battery Park in New York City. It is one of three war memorials in the United States administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission. The others are the West Coast Memorial in San Francisco and the Honolulu Memorial.The memorial...	USA	New York City	World War II	Link
Guadalcanal American Memorial	Solomon Islands Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...	Guadalcanal Guadalcanal Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...	World War II	Link
Honolulu Memorial	USA	Honolulu	World War II	Link
Kemmel American Monument	Belgium	Ieper (Ypres)	World War I	Link
Montfaucon American Monument Montfaucon American Monument The World War I Montfaucon American Monument is a monument commemorating the American victory in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive during World War I. It is located in Montfaucon-d'Argonne in Lorraine, France...	France	Verdun Verdun Verdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...	World War I	Link
Montsec American Monument	France	St. Mihiel	World War I	Link
Naval Monument at Brest	France	Brest Brest, France Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...	World War I	Link
Naval Monument at Gibraltar	Gibraltar Gibraltar Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...	Gibraltar Gibraltar Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...	World War I	Link
Pointe du Hoc American Monument	France	St. Laurent-sur-Mer Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-Population:-References:*...	World War II	Link
Papua American Marker	New Guinea New Guinea New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...	Papua	World War II	Link
Saipan American Memorial	Mariana Islands Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...	Saipan Saipan Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...	World War II	Link
Santiago Surrender Tree	Cuba Cuba The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...	Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....	Spanish American War	Link
Sommepy American Monument	France	St. Menehould Arrondissement of Sainte-Menehould The arrondissement of Sainte-Menehould is an arrondissement of France, located in the Marne département, in the Champagne-Ardenne région...	World War I	Link
Souilly American Headquarters Marker	France	Claye-Souilly Claye-Souilly Claye-Souilly is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-People:Jules de Poliganc was born here in 1745. He was the husband of Madame de Polignac, friend of Marie AntoinetteMancini family...	World War I	Link
Tours American Monument	France	Tours Tours Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...	World War I	Link
Utah Beach American Monument	France	Ste-Marie-du-Mont Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, Manche Sainte-Marie-du-Mont is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-World War II:It is best known for being the scene of military engagement between the American 101st Airborne Division and the German Wehrmacht on D-Day, June 6, 1944.-Heraldry:-References:*...	World War II	Link
West Coast American Memorial	USA	San Francisco	World War II	Link
Western Task Force American Marker	Morocco Morocco Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...	Casablanca Casablanca Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...	World War II	Link

Chairmen of the ABMC

Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

John M. Palmer, (1921–1923)
General of the Armies
General of the Armies
General of the Armies of the United States, or more commonly referred to as General of the Armies, is the highest possible officer rank of the United States Army.Only two soldiers have been granted the rank of General of the Armies; John J...

John J. Pershing
John J. Pershing
John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, GCB , was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I...

, (1923–1948)
General of the Army
General of the Army
General of the Army is a military rank used in some countries to denote a senior military leader, usually a General in command of a nation's Army. It may also be the title given to a General who commands an Army in the field....

George Marshall
George Marshall
George Catlett Marshall was an American military leader, Chief of Staff of the Army, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense...

, (1949–1959)
General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

Jacob L. Devers
Jacob L. Devers
General Jacob "Jake" Loucks Devers , commander of the 6th Army Group in Europe during World War II. He was the first United States military officer to reach the Rhine after D-Day.-Biography:...

, (1960–1969)
General Mark W. Clark, (1969–1984)
General Andrew Goodpaster
Andrew Goodpaster
Andrew Jackson Goodpaster was an American Army General. He served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe from July 1, 1969 and Commander in Chief of the United States European Command from May 5, 1969 until his retirement December 17, 1974...

, (1985–1990)
General Paul X. Kelley
Paul X. Kelley
General Paul Xavier Kelley was the twenty-eighth Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, from July 1, 1983 to June 30, 1987....

, (1991–1994, 2001–2005)
General Frederick F. Woerner, Jr.
Frederick F. Woerner, Jr.
General Frederick Frank Woerner, Jr. is a retired United States Army general and former commander of United States Southern Command.-Military career:...

, (1994–2001)
General Frederick M. Franks, Jr., (2005–2009)

The authorizing legislation for the American Battle Monuments Commission (36 U.S.C., Chapter 21) specifies that the president will appoint 11 members to the commission and an officer of the regular Army to serve as the secretary. President Barack Obama appointed Max Cleland

Max Cleland

Joseph Maxwell Cleland is an American politician from Georgia. Cleland, a Democrat, is a disabled US Army veteran of the Vietnam War, a recipient of the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for valorous action in combat, and a former U.S. Senator...

to serve as Secretary in June 2009. President Obama appointed eight commissioners in July 2010:

Darrell Dorgan
John L. Estrada
John L. Estrada
John L. Estrada was the 15th Sergeant Major of the United States Marine Corps. He succeeded Alford L. McMichael on June 26, 2003, becoming the 15th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. Estrada stepped down on April 25, 2007, turning over the post to SgtMaj Carlton Kent...
Evelyn P. Foote
Pat Foote
Pat Foote is a retired US Army Brigadier General. She served from 1959 to 1989, rising to the rank of brigadier general in 1986, and holds many firsts for women in the U.S. Army.-Early life and education:...
Rolland Kidder
Richard L. Klass
Merrill A. McPeak
Merrill A. McPeak
Merrill Anthony "Tony" McPeak was the 14th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He retired from the service on November 1, 1994.-Education:McPeak was born in Santa Rosa, California...
Constance Morella
Maura C. Sullivan

External links

Official website

World War I : Soldiers Remembered Presented by the Washington State Library and Washington State Archives
Records of Thomas North regarding Dwight D. Eisenhower's service with the Commission, 1927-1929

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Complete sortable list of ABMC cemeteries

Complete sortable list of ABMC monuments

Chairmen of the ABMC

See also

External links