Somme American Cemetery and Memorial
{{Short description|ABCM World War I cemetery in Picardie, France}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox military memorial
|name = Somme American Cemetery and Memorial
|country = United States
|image = Military cemetery of the United States in Bony, France.jpg
|image_size = 300px
|caption = Somme American Cemetery
|commemorates= United States military dead from World War I
|unveiled =
|coordinates = {{coord|49|59|06|N|3|12|48|E |region:FR_type:landmark |display=title,inline |name=Somme American Cemetery}}
|designer =George Howe{{cite web|url=https://www.abmc.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Section15.pdf| page=528|title=American Armies and Battlefields in Europe: A History, Guide and Reference Book }}
Marcel Loyau
|inscription =
|source =
}}
The Somme American Cemetery and Memorial in Picardie, France, is an American Battle Monuments Commission cemetery, situated ½ mile southwest of the commune of Bony, Aisne in northern France. It is located on a gentle slope typical of the open, rolling Picardy countryside.{{Cite web|title=Somme American Cemetery {{!}} American Battle Monuments Commission|url=http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/somme-american-cemetery|access-date=2020-10-15|website=www.abmc.gov|language=en}}
Cemetery
File:Bony Carte postale 22.jpg
The {{convert|14.3|acre|m2|adj=on}} war cemetery was established in October 1918 on ground which saw heavy fighting just before and during the Battle of St Quentin Canal. It contains the graves of 1,844 of the United States' military dead from World War I. Most lost their lives in the assault on the Hindenburg Line while serving in American II Corps attached to the British Fourth Army. Others were killed in operations near Cantigny. The headstones, set in regular rows, are separated into four plots by paths that intersect at the flagpole near the top of the slope. The longer axis leads to the chapel at the eastern end of the cemetery.
A massive bronze door surmounted by an American eagle leads into the chapel, whose outer walls contain sculptured pieces of military equipment. Once inside, light from a cross-shaped crystal window above the marble altar bathes the subdued interior with light. The walls bear the names of 333 of the missing. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.
Notable burials
=Medal of Honor recipients=
- Robert Lester Blackwell (1895–1918{{KIA}}), for action near St. Souplet, France
- Thomas E. O'Shea (1895–1918{{KIA}}), for action at Le Catelet, France
- William Bradford Turner (1892–1918{{KIA}}), for action at Ronssoy, France
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite book |last=Sledge |first=Michael |title=Soldier Dead: How We Recover, Identify, Bury, and Honor Our Military Fallen |year=2005 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0231509374 |page=|oclc= 60527603 }}
External links
{{Commons category|Somme American Cemetery and Memorial}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080517085002/http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/so.php American Battle Monuments Commission – Somme American Cemetery and Memorial]
- {{Find a Grave cemetery}}
- [http://parrainsdelamemoire.free.fr Association Les Parrains de la Mémoire – France Remembrance Association] {{in lang|fr}}
{{USGovernment|url=http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/so.php|title=Somme American Cemetery and Memorial|agency=American Battle Monuments Commission}}
{{American Battle Monuments Commission}}
{{World War I War Memorials in France}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Cemeteries in Hauts-de-France
Category:Buildings and structures in Aisne
Category:World War I memorials in France
Category:World War I cemeteries in France