I took a bit of a long weekend and went for a ride in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium and France. As I like having "objectives" to aim for I thought I'd visit a few places en-route. The first was Meuse Argonne American Cemetery. This is a WW1 cemetery and is bigger than the one at Omaha Beach from WW2. As usual it was immaculate.
I arrived in the middle of a thunderstorm and the atmosphere was sombre to say the least.
Over 14,000 graves. Most from the last days of the war. On 11 Nov 1918 the Germans knew the Armistice was on its way but some US units either didn't or their Generals were out for a last grab of some glory. In one case the Germans tried to signal the advancing US to stop until they had to fight to save their own lives.
I went on and a couple of days later went to Wargarem US Cemetery in Belgium. The sunny weather made this small cemetery (less than 400 crosses) feel more like a show garden. It was really peaceful. Even the sound of the guy using a machine to suck up the dead leaves from the grass didn't intrude. The grass was like a billiard table.
You can even see a guy cleaning the crosses.
20 minutes later I was outside Menen for a different experience. A German graveyard. No triumphalism here!
Yes, it is a VERY big number!
Each stone has 20 names on it.
Around the edge of the grave yard were a few upright gravestones from before this graveyard became a central point for German remembrance. And the irony of one of the gravestones was obvious.
A German Jew dying for his country in WW1.
Further along was the Irish Peace Park.
Made from the stones of an old workhouse from Mullingar (I think?). Opened by The Queen and President McAleese of Ireland (excuse me if I spelt her name wrongly). Here the 36th Ulster Division fought alongside the 2 Divisions from the South at Messines. The presence of a very knowledgable group from the Irish Air Corps added to the experience.
Onwards and I stopped at St Juliaan (?) to see the Canadian memorial to the thousands who died or were injured in a major battle including the use of gas. Very brooding, very impressive.
Further along is a beautifully sculpted memorial to the French pilot Georges Guynemer. He was a dashing Ace who had a stork painted on his aircraft and so the Belgians marked where he died with this.
I went to Poelcapelle CWG which, with the sunsine after fresh rain looked fantastic. Again, very different, the flowers around the graves softened the look and I realised how "sterile" the US graves could look.
And finally a little play with the settings on my iphone.
It was a good trip!
I arrived in the middle of a thunderstorm and the atmosphere was sombre to say the least.
Over 14,000 graves. Most from the last days of the war. On 11 Nov 1918 the Germans knew the Armistice was on its way but some US units either didn't or their Generals were out for a last grab of some glory. In one case the Germans tried to signal the advancing US to stop until they had to fight to save their own lives.
I went on and a couple of days later went to Wargarem US Cemetery in Belgium. The sunny weather made this small cemetery (less than 400 crosses) feel more like a show garden. It was really peaceful. Even the sound of the guy using a machine to suck up the dead leaves from the grass didn't intrude. The grass was like a billiard table.
You can even see a guy cleaning the crosses.
20 minutes later I was outside Menen for a different experience. A German graveyard. No triumphalism here!
Yes, it is a VERY big number!
Each stone has 20 names on it.
Around the edge of the grave yard were a few upright gravestones from before this graveyard became a central point for German remembrance. And the irony of one of the gravestones was obvious.
A German Jew dying for his country in WW1.
Further along was the Irish Peace Park.
Made from the stones of an old workhouse from Mullingar (I think?). Opened by The Queen and President McAleese of Ireland (excuse me if I spelt her name wrongly). Here the 36th Ulster Division fought alongside the 2 Divisions from the South at Messines. The presence of a very knowledgable group from the Irish Air Corps added to the experience.
Onwards and I stopped at St Juliaan (?) to see the Canadian memorial to the thousands who died or were injured in a major battle including the use of gas. Very brooding, very impressive.
Further along is a beautifully sculpted memorial to the French pilot Georges Guynemer. He was a dashing Ace who had a stork painted on his aircraft and so the Belgians marked where he died with this.
I went to Poelcapelle CWG which, with the sunsine after fresh rain looked fantastic. Again, very different, the flowers around the graves softened the look and I realised how "sterile" the US graves could look.
And finally a little play with the settings on my iphone.
It was a good trip!
