This is the cemetery that POTUS decided not to visit because of weather. It's not just a cemetery; it's a significant battlefield. It is here that the 2nd Division halted the German offensive & then the 26th Division drove the Germans back nine miles.
angrystaffofficer.com/2018/05/26/in-…
angrystaffofficer.com/2018/05/26/in-…
Across the street from the cemetery is the church of Belleau, rebuilt after the war out of subscription funds from the National Guardsmen of the 26th Division. It was dedicated as the 26th Division Church on a rainy and windy day in October of 1929
Just about a mile down the valley, below the Etrepilly plateau, is the town of Bouresches. Outside its railway station is where the first Greek-American to receive the Medal of Honor - PFC George Dilboy - was killed in action, knocking out a German MG nest.
Between the 2nd and 26th Divisions, the area around the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery was the sight of horrific fighting from June-July, 1918. Regulars, Marines, and Guardsmen fought desperate struggles here. It was here that it became clear that the US had what it took to win.
So it's not just any cemetery. It's not just any battlefield. For the American experience in WWI, it's like our Gettysburg. Where the tide was reversed. Where the US showed what it could do. And many of the heroes who fought there sleep in that hallowed ground.
I would ask the President that he at least visit the Suresnes American Cemetery, which it just on the outskirts of Paris. Please.
Those young men & women who died in WWI deserve at least some part of your time. They did so much & asked for so little.
Those young men & women who died in WWI deserve at least some part of your time. They did so much & asked for so little.
Most of those buried in the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery are Marines - whose birthday it is today -, soldiers from the 9th & 23rd Infantry, and New England National Guardsmen from the 26th "Yankee" Division. There are also several African-American soldiers at rest as well.
