A U.S. Army firing detail participates at the Memorial Day ceremony at Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France, May 28, 2023. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
ST. AVOLD, France – American and French citizens paid tribute Sunday to the 10,481 people buried at Lorraine American Cemetery and to mark Memorial Day at the largest World War II cemetery in Europe.
The ceremony in the rolling hills of eastern France was hosted by the American Battle Monuments Commission, which runs the cemetery and is marking its centennial, and drew hundreds of people.
Active-duty participants from the Army, Navy and Air Force and cadets from the Stuttgart High School Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program participated in the ceremony that featured speeches, a wreath laying, a flyover by a C-130 aircraft, firing of volleys and the playing of taps.
“The more than 10,000 buried here were the best of their generation,” said Maj. Gen. Stephen Maranian, commander of 56th Artillery Command, noting the sacrifices service members made then and continue to make.
Maj. Gen. Stephen Maranian, commander of 56th Artillery Command, lays a wreath at the Memorial Day ceremony at Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France, May 28, 2023. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Cadets of the Stuttgart High School Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program salute during the playing of the American and French national anthems at the Memorial Day ceremony at Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France, May 28, 2023. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Spectators watch the Memorial Day ceremony at Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France, under an American flag flying at half-staff, May 28, 2023. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Digneteries watch the Memorial Day ceremony at Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France, May 28, 2023. Hundreds of Americans and French attended on a sunny day in eastern France. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
A U.S. Navy color guard present the colors at the Memorial Day ceremony at Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France, May 28, 2023. Behind the sailors are some of the cemetery’s 10,481 graves. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
A C-130 from the 37th Airlift Squadron from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, flies over the Memorial Day ceremony at Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France, May 28, 2023. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Sacrifice was a common theme among those speaking at the event.
Denise Bauer, U.S. ambassador to France and Monaco, said “they left their families to fight for liberty and doing so, they sacrificed their tomorrows for ours and their dreams for our future.”
She also observed after speaking of those buried at the cemetery: “Today, we are reminded again, by the war in Ukraine, that freedom is not free, and democracy is not guaranteed.”
Walking among the rows of white crosses and Stars of David following the ceremony, Norman Matzke, a retired lieutenant colonel and the Stuttgart JROTC senior Army instructor, said it’s a tradition for cadets to attend. “It is important to bring them here and let them be involved. It is what Memorial Day is all about.”
“Before I came here, I didn’t know what it was all about,” Cadet 2nd Lt. Marek Lavato said. “All the people who sacrificed themselves for their country. It is important to come here and see it.”
