Program The Faces of Margraten May 2-5
From May 2-5, 2015, thousands of graves and names on the Walls of the Missing at the American War Cemetery in Margraten, the Netherlands will be decorated with a personal photo of the soldier buried or memorialized there. In this way, our U.S. liberators will be given a face 70 years after the end of World War II. The first information about the program for these days can be found on this page. The photos tell the stories of the mostly young men and women who laid down their lives for our freedom. But these photos also tell the stories of those left behind at home, who would never see their loved-ones again. After all, the soldiers buried here were not just soldiers. Now 70 years after the war, they will be given a face.
The cemetery will be open each day from 9 AM - 5 PM, with the exception of May 4th. On this day, when the Netherlands annually commemorates its war dead, the cemetery will also be open in the evening. Around 8 PM that day, a short ceremony will take place during which two minutes of silence will be observed, like elsewhere in the Netherlands.
During the cemetery's opening hours, volunteers will be present to answer your questions and to hand out the program booklet to you. The volunteers can be recognized by the red jackets with the logo of the Stichting Verenigde Adoptanten Amerikaanse Oorlogsgraven.
Ceremony - May 2
The project will officially be opened on May 2 at 2 PM. However, you can already visit the cemetery that day before the official opening. The photos will already be at display. The program for the opening will include:
- National anthems of the Netherlands and the United States of America
- Keith Stadler, Superintendent Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial
- Deputy Chief of Mission Adam Sterling, U.S. Embassy The Hague
- Deputy Ger Koopmans, Province of Limburg
- Reading of poems and musical performance by Intro In Situ
- Proclamation of a letter to an unknown soldier by Justine Camps
- Sebastiaan Vonk, chairman Stichting Verenigde Adoptanten Amerikaanse Oorlogsgraven
- Presentation of the last six photos
- Taps and a moment of silence
- Presentation of the final six photos at the gravesites
Masters of ceremonies is Arie-Jan van Hees. The U.S. Color Guard and other participating U.S. soldiers are from USAG Schinnen. The poems by Intro In Situ were written and will be read by Frans Budé and Michelle Bracker. The musical composition was composed by Nicoline Soeter and will be performed by Jean-Pierre van Hees en Rianne Wilbers.
Visiting soldiers' relatives
If you are a relative of any of the soldiers buried in or memorialized at the cemetery and are planning to visit The Faces of Margraten tribute, please notify the cemetery of your visit in advance. They will be happy to welcome and assist you.
Transport
The cemetery is situated along the main road N278. The cemetery's address is Amerikaanse Begraafplaats 1, Margraten. You can plan your travel to the cemetery for example through Google Maps. A bus service stops regularly in front of the cemetery's entrance gates. For more information on the bus services, please see: www.9292.nl.
Latest news
In the meantime, you can stay up-to-date on the latest knews about the project through our social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter. You can also still submit a photo of a soldier buried or memorialized in Margraten. To learn how to do so, please visit this page (click).
