Among the soldiers buried here lie Roger Turpaud, a soldier in the 276th infantry regiment (IR), a legal journalist at the Figaro and later editor of the Police Commissioners' Newspaper and Financial Administration (plot 1, grave no. 71) and Jean-Louis Coqueton, a corporal in the 278th IR, head of office at the Creuse prefecture, who was wounded and taken prisoner on 21 September 1914 at Moulin-sous-Touvent. He died at the German lazaretto in Chauny on 1 October 1914 (plot 2, grave no. 14).

The combatants include several soldiers from the combined Pacific battalion. These men from French Polynesia died during the fighting to take Vesles, Caumont and the farm of Le Petit Caumont on the Marlois plain in the Aisne.

Among these soldiers is a Chinese legionnaire, MA YI PAO (plot F, grave no. 59). A Muslim, Ma Yi Pao had left his country, then in the midst of political instability, to escape religious persecution. At 24 years of age, he joined the Foreign Legion. Although most of his countrymen were employed as workers, he is the only Chinese soldier now recognised to have died for France, on 2 September 1918, of his wounds, in the Jaulzy ambulance, in Oise.

These civilian victims include, notably, the remains of women and children, some of them very young, such as Madeleine Beaujeux aged 4 years (grave 157) and Louise Questroy aged 12 years (grave 89). Two sisters from Origny-en-Thiérache, Yvonne (aged 24) (grave 79) and Noëlla (aged 20) (grave 77) who died on 25 May and 7 June 1917 respectively, are buried there along with a father and his son from Colligies, Eugène Grenier (aged 21) and Ernest Grenier (aged 49) who died on 12 and 17 October respectively (graves 162 and 163).

This war cemetery contains 1,333 French soldiers including 571 in an ossuary, 727 Germans, 25 Russians, two Italians and a Romanian who all fell between 1914 and 1918.

There are the bodies of three French servicemen and two civilians buried here from the Second World War.

Among the soldiers buried here, are the remains of a lieutenant of the 71st Infantry Regiment, Pierre de Raguenel de Montmorel, who died on 29th August 1914. Three of his brothers, also officers, also lost their lives during the conflict.

On the German side, also buried in this cemetery is Friedrich von Bismarck, Oberstleutnant, grandson of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who died on 5th November 1916.

The cemetery has several monuments in memory of both German and French regiments.

Also, 428 French soldiers and one Soviet soldier who lost their lives in the Second World War are buried here. The site lies next to a German cemetery containing the bodies of 2,332 soldiers, 911 of whom are buried in a collective grave.

A commemorative monument in the form of an obelisk stands in the French section, bearing the inscription Dulce Et Decorum Est, Pro Patria Mori (It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country).

At the beginning of 1916, there were riots in towns in the north caused by shortages in supplies. In April, the German authorities responded by sending workers to neighbouring areas. Faced with international criticism, this deportation was soon stopped. Some of the workers, including Arthur Jaspart, lost their lives. He was a worker from Valenciennes who died, aged 21, on 9 July 1918 in the isolation ward at the German military railways workshop in Guise. He is buried in Guise cemetery (Grave No.1236).

The Saint-Quentin national cemetery - created in 1923 - was set up by the French military authorities in order to bring together the bodies of soldiers who had died during the battles of August 1914 and those of 1918, who had initially been buried in temporary cemeteries in the area.  Today, this cemetery contains almost 5,000 French soldiers including 1,319 - most of whom are non-identified - lying in two ossuaries. 117 Russians and two Romanians lie in individual graves. Many Indo-Chinese infantrymen and Tonkinese workers are also buried at this site, as well as 60 soldiers from the 173rd infantry regiment - the only active French army unit of Corsican origin.

With regard to the Second World War, 207 Frenchmen are buried here. One of these men is Henri Blondeau, staff officer with the 9th army, who was killed on 18 May 1940 when the headquarters of the 9th army - moved from Bohain to Le Catelet - was attacked by a line of German tanks from the VIIth Panzer division. Twenty French soldiers died during these violent combats. Alain Blondeau, the officer's son and a squadron helicopter pilot, died in Algeria on 26 November 1956. They were buried together (grave n° 3820).

A German cemetery located to the west of Saint-Quentin - which was created in 1914 during the German occupation and inaugurated by Emperor Wilhelm II - today contains the bodies of over 8,000 soldiers.

The museum officially opened in May 2008, with support from the Château-Thierry community of communes and Picardy Region. The project is the initiative of the mayor of Belleau, and the design and management of the collections is in the hands of the district authority of Château-Thierry, in conjunction with many collectors of First World War memorabilia, all of them true enthusiasts.

In a first area of the museum is a permanent exhibition on the American Cemetery and the Marine Corps.

In a second area, temporary exhibitions look at themes related to the First World War.

History of the Battle of Belleau Wood:

The Battle of Belleau Wood took place in June 1918, with the involvement of American soldiers of the 2^nd Division, notably Marines who had just arrived from eastern France. After one month of fierce combat, the American soldiers, including the Marines, won this battle which today is still considered as the first major engagement and the founding event of the Marines’ reputation. Each year they send a delegation to celebrate Memorial Day at the end of May.

The Marine Corps had 1,062 dead, 33 missing, 3,170 wounded and 445 victims of gassing during the fighting in the Belleau sector. That was more than half the Marine Brigade troops: more than all the losses recorded since the creation of the Marine Corps in 1775. But Paris was saved, the Americans had proved their valor in combat, and the French Army had regained morale and was able to count on its new allies. After Belleau, the Germans never again progressed toward Paris until the end of the War. This was the beginning of the road to Victory. The Marines earned their nickname of “Devil Dogs” at Belleau for their tenacity in combat.

A few days later, on 29 June 1918, General Degoutte, commander of the 6the French Army, proclaimed on the agenda: "Given the brilliant behavior of the 4^th Brigade of the 2^nd Infantry Division of the United States, which took Bouresches in hard-fought battle and the control point of Belleau Wood, fiercely defended by the numerous enemy, the Commanding General of the 6^th Army hereby declares that in all official documents, Belleau Wood shall forevermore be referred to as “Marine Brigade Wood”.

Sources : ©Musée de la Mémoire de Belleau 1914-1918

This 21-hectare cemetery is situated at the foot of the hill on which Belleau Wood stands. Many of those buried in the cemetery lost their lives in the wood.

The cemetery's official name, Aisne-Marne, refers to the Aisne-Marne offensive which took place between May and October 1918, mainly in the south of the Aisne department and the west of the Marne department. Of the 2,289 graves in the cemetery, 250 contain the bodies of unidentified service personnel. The servicepeople who lie here originated from the 48 American states which existed at the time and the District of Columbia. Most of them died during the second battle of the Marne.

The Chapel

The chapel was built above the trenches on the front line dug by the 2nd American Division to defend Belleau Wood after it was captured on 25 June 1918. The chapel, a fine example of French Romanesque architecture, is more than 24 metres high. The exterior steps, the walls and the terrace are built of limestone from St. Maximin, Savonnières and Massangis. The sculptures around the entrance depict trench scenes from the First World War. The names of the 1,060 personnel who lost their lives are written on the walls of the chapel.

The Memorial is the work of architects Cram and Ferguson from Boston, Massachusetts. The décor in the chapel was designed by William F. Ross and Co., East Cambridge, Massachusetts and crafted by Alfred Bottiau from Paris. In 1934, the President of the United States allocated responsibility for the management of the cemetery, which was inaugurated on Memorial day (30 May) 1937, to the American Battle Monuments Commission.

The Bois Belleau

The Bois (wood), a site covering 81 hectares bordering the cemetery behind the chapel, is a memorial dedicated to all the Americans who fought during the First World War. It features the remains of trenches, shell holes and artefacts from the war found in the surrounding area.

On an island in the road through the clearing in the middle of the wood lies a monument erected by the Marines and a flag pole. The monument is a black granite stele to which is attached a bronze bas-relief by Felix de Weldon depicting a life-sized Marine attacking with a rifle and bayonet.

This monument commemorates the 4th Brigade, 2nd Division Marines who were primarily responsible for the capture of the wood. On 30 June 1918 the wood was officially renamed "Marine Brigade Wood" by the Commander General of the 6th French Army.

American Battle Monuments Commission

This American government agency manages 24 American cemeteries and 25 commemorative monuments, war memorials and other remembrance sites in 15 countries. The Commission plays a part in achieving the vision of its first president, General of the Armies of the United States John J. Pershing. General Pershing, Commander in Chief of the American expeditionary corps during the First World War, vowed that "Time will not dim the glory of their deeds".

Visits

Open every day (except 25 December and 1 January) from 9am to 5pm.

Entrance is free and guided visits, also free, are organised on reservation. Information is available from the visitor information centre.

Access

Take exit 19 from the A4 motorway then follow the N3 to Belleau.

Aisne Marne American Cemetery

02400 Belleau - France

E-mail : aisne-marne@abmc.gov

American Battle Monuments Commission

68 rue du 19 janvier BP 50 92380 Garches

Tel: +33 (0)1 47 01 37 46

American Battle Monuments Commission