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{{Short description|US government agency}}{{Redirect|ABMC||Archivio Biblioteca Museo Civico}}{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}

factoids

| motto = "Time will not dim the glory of their deeds."| employees = 472 (2023)| budget = $73.1 million (2023)| chief1_name = Charles K. Djou| chief1_position = Secretarywww.abmc.gov}}}}The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) is an independent agency of the United States government that administers, operates, and maintains permanent U.S. military cemeteries, memorials and monuments primarily outside the United States.WEB, About,weblink American Battle Monuments Commission, 2011-11-21, 2014-04-28,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140428071845weblink">weblink live, There were 26 cemeteries and 31 memorials, monuments and markers under the care of the ABMC. There are more than 140,000 U.S. servicemen and servicewomen interred at the cemeteries, and more than 94,000 missing in action, or lost or buried at sea are memorialized on cemetery Walls of the Missing and on three memorials in the United States. The ABMC also maintains an online database of names associated with each site.WEB, History,weblink American Battle Monuments Commission, March 2, 2015, March 13, 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150313164621weblink">weblink live,

History

The ABMC was established by the United States Congress in 1923. Its purpose is to:

• Commemorate the services of the U.S. armed forces where they have served since April 6, 1917;
• Establish suitable War memorials; designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining permanent U.S. military burial grounds in foreign countries;
• Control 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;
• Encourage the maintenance of such monuments and markers by their sponsors.

The United States Department of War established eight European burial grounds for World War I. The ABMC's first program was landscaping and erecting non-sectarian chapels at each of the eight sites, constructing 11 separate monuments and two tablets at other sites in Europe, and constructing the Allied Expeditionary Forces World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. For those buried who could not be identified during World War I, a percentage were commemorated by Star of David markers, rather than a cross; this practice was not continued for those who could not be identified during World War II.BOOK, Richard Rubin, The Last of the Doughboys: The Forgotten Generation and Their Forgotten World War,weblink 2013, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 978-0547843698, 227, 2015-10-29, 2016-05-18,weblink live, In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order transferring control of the eight cemeteries to the ABMC, and made the commission responsible for the design, construction, maintenance and operation of all future permanent American military burial grounds outside the United States.The ABMC has been the caretaker of cemeteries, monuments and memorials for World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Mexican–American War. In 2013, Clark Veterans Cemetery in the Philippines became the 25th site under the control of the commission. Clark Veterans Cemetery dates back to the Philippine–American War at the turn of the 20th century.WEB, ABMC to Assume Control of Clark Veterans Cemetery,weblink American Battle Monuments Commission, December 16, 2013, 2 March 2015, 14 February 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150214115802weblink">weblink live, The Lafayette Escadrille Memorial Cemetery outside Paris, France was added to the commission's responsibilities in 2017.WEB, ABMC Assumes Ownership of Lafayette Escadrille Memorial Cemetery,weblink American Battle Monuments Commission, January 9, 2017, 7 February 2018, 12 October 2017,weblink live,

Structure

The agency has its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and its Overseas Operations Office in Paris, France.The authorizing legislation for the American Battle Monuments Commission (36 U.S.C., Chapter 21) specifies that the President may appoint up to 11 members to the commission (who serve indefinite terms and who serve without pay)WEB, 14 November 2023, ABMC Annual Report,weblink live,weblink November 14, 2023, November 14, 2023, American Battle Monuments Commission, and an officer of the Army to serve as the secretary.WEB, ABMC Commissioners,weblink American Battle Monuments Commission, 14 November 2023, 14 November 2023,weblink live,

Chairmen of the ABMC

• John J. Pershing (1923–1948)
• George C. Marshall (1949–1959)
• Jacob L. Devers (1960–1969)
• Mark W. Clark (1969–1984)
• Andrew Goodpaster (1985–1990)
• Paul X. Kelley (1991–1994, 2001–2005)
• Frederick F. Woerner Jr. (1994–2001)
• Frederick M. Franks Jr. (2005–2009)
• Merrill McPeak (2010–2018)WEB, History – Commission Structure,weblink American Battle Monuments Commission, 7 February 2018, 5 February 2018,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20180205072721weblink">weblink live,
• David Urban (2018–2021)WEB,weblink American Battle Monuments Commission, The Commission, February 7, 2018, February 5, 2018,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20180205125947weblink">weblink dead,
• Mark Hertling (2021–2023)WEB,weblink American Battle Monuments Commission, The Commission, 2023-03-24, 2023-03-24,weblink live,
• Michael X. Garrett (2023–present)

Secretaries of the ABMC

• Xenophon H. Price (1923–1938)
• Thomas North (1946–1968)
• Andrew J. Adams (1968–1992)
• Joseph A. Laposata (1994–1995)
• John P. Herrling (1995–2005)
• John W. Nicholson (2005–2009)
• Max Cleland (2009–2017)
• William Matz Jr. (2018–2021)
• Charles K. Djou (2022–present)WEB, Our Staff – American Battle Monuments Commission,weblink live,weblink 2022-09-14, 2022-09-14,

Board of Commissioners

10 commissioners were appointed by President Joe Biden on September 28, 2021: Darrell L. Dorgan; John L. Estrada; Florent Groberg; Amy Looney Heffernan; Matthew E. Jones; Raymond D. Kemp, Sr.; Bud D. Pettigrew; Michael E. Smith; Gail Berry West; and Daniel P. Woodward. Mark P. Hertling was originally appointed as secretary on the same day,WEB,weblink President Biden Appoints Members to the American Battle Monuments Commission, 2021-09-29, The White House, 2021-09-29, but was later appointed as commissioner, and was elected as chairman on December 13, 2021. Following Hertling's departure from ABMC, President Biden appointed Michael X. Garrett as commissioner in July 2023. Garrett was elected as chairman on August 1, 2023.

Operations

The American Battle Monuments Commission employs a full-time staff of 472 people in 2023. All ABMC sites are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, with the exception of Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Cemeteries are not closed for national holidays. When the sites are open to the public, a commission staff member is available to escort visitors and relatives to grave and memorial sites or to answer questions.

Cemeteries and Memorials of the ABMC

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 100%;line-height:1.4em;"!! scope="col" style="background-color: #d5bb7b; color: #000000; white-space:nowrap;" |Cemetery!! scope="col" style="background-color: #d5bb7b; color: #000000; white-space:nowrap;" |Country!! scope="col" style="background-color: #d5bb7b; color: #000000;" |Conflict!! scope="col" style="background-color: #d5bb7b; color: #000000;" |Dedicated!! scope="col" style="background-color: #d5bb7b; color: #000000;" |Burials!! scope="col" style="background-color: #d5bb7b; color: #000000;" |MIA!! scope="col" style="background-color: #d5bb7b; color: #000000;" class="unsortable"|Web style="background:#ffffff;"|Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and MemorialFrance}}|World War I|1937|2,289|1,060|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Ardennes American Cemetery and MemorialBelgium}}|World War II|1960|5,323|463|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Brittany American Cemetery and MemorialFrance}}|World War II|1956|4,409|498|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Brookwood American Cemetery and MemorialUnited Kingdom}}|World War I|1937|468|563|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Cambridge American Cemetery and MemorialUnited Kingdom}}|World War II|1956|3,812|5,127|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Clark Veterans CemeteryPhilippines}}|Philippine–American Warand after|c. 19002013 (with ABMC)|8,000+||Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Corozal American Cemetery and MemorialPanama}}|veterans of theMexican–American WarAmerican Civil WarWorld War IWorld War II|19141982 (with ABMC)|5,450||Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Epinal American Cemetery and MemorialFrance}}|World War II|19441956 (with ABMC)|5,255|424|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Flanders Field American Cemetery and MemorialBelgium}}|World War I|1937|368|43|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Florence American Cemetery and MemorialItaly}}|World War II|1960|4,402|1,409|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and MemorialBelgium}}|World War II|1960|7,992|450|Details style="background:#ffffff;"Lafayette Escadrille#Tributes>Lafayette Escadrille Cemetery and MemorialFrance}}|World War I|1928 2017 (with ABMC)|51|5|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Lorraine American Cemetery and MemorialFrance}}|World War II|1960|10,489|444|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Luxembourg American Cemetery and MemorialLuxembourg}}|World War II|1960|5,076|371|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Manila American Cemetery and MemorialPhilippines}}|World War II|1960|17,201|36,285|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and MemorialFrance}}|World War I|1937|14,246|954|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Mexico City National CemeteryMexico}}|Mexican–American War|1851|813|750|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Netherlands American Cemetery and MemorialNetherlands}}|World War II|1960|8,301|1,722|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Normandy American Cemetery and MemorialFrance}}|World War II|1956|9,387|1,557|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|North Africa American Cemetery and MemorialTunisia}}|World War II|1960|2,841|3,724|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and MemorialFrance}}|World War I|1937|6,012|241|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Rhone American Cemetery and MemorialFrance}}|World War II|1956|860|294|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and MemorialItaly}}|World War II|1956|7,861|3,095|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Somme American Cemetery and MemorialFrance}}|World War I|1937|1,844|333|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|St. Mihiel American Cemetery and MemorialFrance}}|World War I|1937|4,153|284|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Suresnes American Cemetery and MemorialFrance}}|World War I|1937|1,565|974|Details

Monuments of the ABMC{| class"wikitable" style"width: 100%;"

!! scope="col" style="background-color:#000000; color: #ffffff; white-space:nowrap;"|Monument!! scope="col" style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; white-space:nowrap;"| Location!! scope="col" style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; white-space:nowrap;"| Country!! scope="col" style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff;" |Dedication!! scope="col" style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff;" |Battle!! scope="col" style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff;" class="unsortable"|Web! colspan=6 style="background: #d5bb7b; font-size: 120%; color: #000000;"| Spanish–American War style="background:#ffffff;"Santiago Surrender Tree|Santiago de CubaCuba}}José Toral y Velázquez>José Toral's surrender of Santiago de Cuba on July 13, 1898|Siege of Santiago|Details! colspan=6 style="background: #d5bb7b; font-size: 120%; color: #000000;"|World War I style="background:#ffffff;"|Audenarde American Monument|OudenaardeBelgium}}37th Division (United States)>37th and 91st Divisions|October–November 1918|Details style="background:#ffffff;"Iron Mike#Belleau, France>Belleau Wood American MonumentBelleau, Aisne>BelleauFrance}}5th Marine Regiment (United States)>5th and 6th Marine Regiments|Battle of Belleau Wood|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Bellicourt American MonumentSaint-Quentin, Aisne>St. QuentinFrance}}27th Infantry Division (United States)>27th and 30th Divisions|Battle of St. Quentin Canal|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Cantigny American MonumentMontdidier, Somme>MontdidierFrance}}28th Infantry Regiment (United States)>28th Regiment of the First Army|Battle of Cantigny|Details style="background:#ffffff;"Château-Thierry American Monument|Château-ThierryFrance}}|U.S. and French soldiersUnited States campaigns in World War I#Aisne-Marne, 18 July – 6 August 1918>Aisne-Marne Offensive and Oise-Aisne Offensive|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Chaumont AEF Headquarters MarkerChaumont, Haute-Marne>ChaumontFrance}}American Expeditionary Forces led by John J. Pershing>General Pershing|Headquarters of the AEF, September 1, 1917, to July 11, 1919|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Kemmel American Monument|YpresBelgium}}II Corps (United States)>II Corps|Ypres-Lys OffensiveAugust 18 to September 4, 1918|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Meuse-Argonne American Memorial|VerdunFrance}}First United States Army>First Army and Second Army|Meuse-Argonne OffensiveSeptember 26, 1918, to November 11, 1918|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Montsec American Monument|Saint-MihielFrance}}First United States Army>First ArmySecond Army|September 12–16, 1918November 9–11|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Naval Monument at BrestBrest, France>BrestFrance}}|the naval forces of the United States and France during World War I|Headquarters of the United States and French navies|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Naval Monument at Gibraltar|Straits of GibraltarGibraltar}}|U.S. Navy and British Royal Navy for major victories|August 1917–November 11, 1918|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Sommepy American MonumentSainte-MenehouldFrance}}|70,000 troops who drove the German army back north of the Aisne River:42nd Division369th, 371st, and 372nd Infantry Regiments2nd and 36th Divisions36th Division| July 15–18, 1918September 26-October 8September 29-October 28October 11–October 27|Details style="background:#ffffff;"Souilly American Headquarters Marker|SouillyFrance}}First United States Army>First Army during the last few months of the war|Meuse-Argonne Offensive|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Tours American Monument|ToursFrance}}United States Army Services of Supply>Services of Supply and 645,000 soldiers of the American Expeditionary Forces|*Constructed almost 1,000 miles of railway tracks;

• Assembled more than 1,500 locomotives and 18,000 rail cars;
• Managed hospitals with a capacity of 192,844 beds.|Details

! colspan=6 style="background: #d5bb7b; font-size: 120%; color: #000000;"|World War II style="background:#ffffff;"Mardasson Memorial>Battle of the Bulge Monument|BastogneBelgium}}|U.S. soldiers wounded or killed in the Battle of the Bulge|Battle of the Bulge|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Cabanatuan American Memorial|CabanatuanPhilippines}}|U.S. and Filipino victims of the Bataan Death March and Cabanatuan internment camps||Details style="background:#ffffff;"Battery Park#East Coast Memorial>East Coast Memorial for the Missing|New York CityUnited States}}|4,611 U.S. sailors and service members lost in the Atlantic Ocean during the war|Battle of the Atlantic|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Guadalcanal American Memorial|GuadalcanalSolomon Islands}}|U.S. soldiers and allies who died in the Battle of Guadalcanal|Guadalcanal Campaign|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Honolulu Memorial|Honolulu, HawaiiUnited States}}|Dedicated to the 18,096 U.S. World War II soldiers missing from the Pacific (excluding those from the southwest Pacific), 8,200 missing from the Korean War, and 2,504 from the Vietnam War||Details style="background:#ffffff;"Pointe du Hoc American MonumentSaint-Laurent-sur-MerFrance}}2nd Ranger Battalion (United States)>Second Ranger Battalion members who on June 6, 1944, scaled the {{convertfootabbr=on}} cliff of Pointe du Hoc and seized German artillery that could have fired on the U.S. troops landing at Omaha and Utah beaches.|D-Day|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Papua American MarkerPapua, New Guinea>PapuaPapua New Guinea}}|U.S. soldiers who fought in Southwest Pacific theatre|South West Pacific theatre of World War II|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Saipan American Memorial|Saipan{{Flag|Northern Mariana Islands}}Chamorro people>Chamorro who died during the liberation of the Mariana Islands during World War II|Mariana and Palau Islands campaign|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Utah Beach American MonumentSainte-Marie-du-Mont, Manche>Ste-Marie-du-MontFrance}}VII Corps (United States)>VII Corps members who liberated the Cotentin Peninsula|Battle of Cherbourg|Details style="background:#ffffff;"West Coast Memorial to the Missing of World War II>West Coast Memorial to the Missing|San FranciscoUnited States}}|417 U.S. sailors and service members lost in the Pacific Ocean theater|Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|Details style="background:#ffffff;"|Western Naval Task Force Marker|CasablancaMorocco}}|U.S. Western Task Force soldiers who made the first transoceanic amphibious operation|Operation Torch|Details! colspan=6 style="background: #d5bb7b; font-size: 120%; color: #000000;"|Korean War style="background:#ffffff;"|United Nations Memorial Cemetery|BusanSouth Korea}}|U.S. service members who fought in the Korean War|Korean War|Details

See also

• American War Memorials Overseas
• National Register of Historic Places

Other national war graves commissions

• Austria – Austrian Black Cross (Austrian War graves on the Vienna Central cemetery are still looked after by German War Graves CommissionÖsterreich betreut Kriegsgräberstätten. In: Stimme & Weg, 2/2011, p. 24.)
• France – Ministère de la DéfenseMinistère de la Défense, SGA Sépultures de guerre (File of French soldiers killed in action) {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621192301weblink |date=2013-06-21 }}
• Germany – German War Graves Commission
• Netherlands – (:nl:Oorlogsgravenstichting|Oorlogsgravenstichting)WEB,weblink Website of the Oorlogsgravenstichting in Netherlands, 2013-04-06, 2009-02-06,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090206233125weblink">weblink live, (Dutch Wikipedia)
• Russia – Association of War Memorials
• United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa – Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)

References

{{Reflist|2}}

• Nishiura, Elizabeth, editor (1989). American Battle Monuments: A Guide to Military Cemeteries and Monuments Maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission. Detroit, Michigan: Omnigraphics Inc. {{ISBN|978-1558888128}}. {{OCLC|20504222}}
• Hallowed Grounds (2009). PBS video of 11 America's overseas military cemeteries in eight countries.

Bibliography

• BOOK, American Battle Monuments Commission, American armies and battlefields in Europe: a history, guide, and reference book,weblink U.S.G.P.O., 1938, Selected photos available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection
• BOOK, American Battle Monuments Commission, American armies and battlefields in Europe: a history, guide, and reference book,weblink U.S.G.P.O., 1938, Maps available online through the Washington State Office of the Secretary of State's Washington History collection
• BOOK, Sledge, Michael, Soldier Dead: How We Recover, Identify, Bury, and Honor Our Military Fallen, 2005, Columbia University Press, 0-231-13514-9, 81452881,

External links

{{Commons category|American Battle Monuments Commission}}

• Official website

{{American Battle Monuments Commission}}{{Authority control}}