Luxembourg's Military Cemeteries
Amidst all of the hoopla of the World War II history in Europe, it's easy to forget Luxembourg's role throughout the struggle.
Despite its initial resolution to maintain neutrality, Luxembourg was eventually annexed into the Reich in '42, following a battle that might have lasted as long as a football match two years earlier. The government itself refused any collaboration, electing to go into exile in the UK. Even so, at least 3,000 Jews were rounded up and executed by the Germans during occupation, while the same laws were applied to those who were spared, like wearing the Star of David Badge. Not many Jews survived in Luxembourg, when all was said and done.
Fast forward to The Battle of the Bulge in 1944, when the Germans desperately attempted a counter attack against the advancing American and British troops. Cities like Echternach became crucial for the combatants to hold. Despite the result of the battle, casualties were high on both sides, historians accounting for up to 300,000 killed and wounded, many of whom were buried in the military cemeteries in Luxembourg.
I decided to visit both cemeteries, the U.S. and the German. The U.S. cemetery was more elaborate, more polished, the way you would expect it from a victor nation. Here the monument, the flag waving, there the missing names listed, plus details of the battles around the Ardennes. General Patton himself had requested to be buried in Luxembourg following his accident in Germany that would prove to be fatal. As you would expect, his grave was at the front, facing the men he'd commanded during the war in Europe, where his Third Army was headquartered in nearby Luxembourg City.
By anybody's account, the cemetery is impressive. 17 acres, surrounded by 33 acres more of woodland. More than 5,000 Americans buried in all. That said, it was sad walking through those rows of soldiers, most of them cut down with an Allied victory by then all but a foregone conclusion. For an assignment and to honor the dead, I decided to write down one name from North Carolina and do some research on him.
The man I chose was William D. Thaggard, Private, U.S. Army, date of death February 11, 1945. According to the website findagrave.com, Private Haggard hailed from Elizabethtown, Bladen County. Died at age 25, left a wife and two young children, employed by a lumber company. He had been overseas for all of 25 days. RIP.
Despite the spit and shine, I found the cemetery to be a sad place, regardless of ideology.
Not any less depressing was the German cemetery. 1944 and 1945 was a never ending quicksand for the Third Reich. By now, Hitler, desperate for troops, was scraping at the bottom of the barrel. The results could be seen right in front of us, maybe a mile from the Americans' final resting place. The German cemetery had more the air of a military cemetery. Dank, calm, reminiscent of the horrors of war, whether they'd been victorious or not.
A disproportionate amount of soldiers were 16 or 17 years old. Most of these kids had been five years old when Hitler first took power. And they all died...for what? Only the madman and his minions, now long dead, could possibly answer that. The older soldiers buried there had probably fought five or six years before their struggle gracefully ended.
I felt as bad for the Germans on my way home, I admit. In the end, both sides lose in war, no matter how we try to spin it. Prayers for all soldiers who fell.
Despite its initial resolution to maintain neutrality, Luxembourg was eventually annexed into the Reich in '42, following a battle that might have lasted as long as a football match two years earlier. The government itself refused any collaboration, electing to go into exile in the UK. Even so, at least 3,000 Jews were rounded up and executed by the Germans during occupation, while the same laws were applied to those who were spared, like wearing the Star of David Badge. Not many Jews survived in Luxembourg, when all was said and done.
Fast forward to The Battle of the Bulge in 1944, when the Germans desperately attempted a counter attack against the advancing American and British troops. Cities like Echternach became crucial for the combatants to hold. Despite the result of the battle, casualties were high on both sides, historians accounting for up to 300,000 killed and wounded, many of whom were buried in the military cemeteries in Luxembourg.
I decided to visit both cemeteries, the U.S. and the German. The U.S. cemetery was more elaborate, more polished, the way you would expect it from a victor nation. Here the monument, the flag waving, there the missing names listed, plus details of the battles around the Ardennes. General Patton himself had requested to be buried in Luxembourg following his accident in Germany that would prove to be fatal. As you would expect, his grave was at the front, facing the men he'd commanded during the war in Europe, where his Third Army was headquartered in nearby Luxembourg City.
By anybody's account, the cemetery is impressive. 17 acres, surrounded by 33 acres more of woodland. More than 5,000 Americans buried in all. That said, it was sad walking through those rows of soldiers, most of them cut down with an Allied victory by then all but a foregone conclusion. For an assignment and to honor the dead, I decided to write down one name from North Carolina and do some research on him.
The man I chose was William D. Thaggard, Private, U.S. Army, date of death February 11, 1945. According to the website findagrave.com, Private Haggard hailed from Elizabethtown, Bladen County. Died at age 25, left a wife and two young children, employed by a lumber company. He had been overseas for all of 25 days. RIP.
Despite the spit and shine, I found the cemetery to be a sad place, regardless of ideology.
Not any less depressing was the German cemetery. 1944 and 1945 was a never ending quicksand for the Third Reich. By now, Hitler, desperate for troops, was scraping at the bottom of the barrel. The results could be seen right in front of us, maybe a mile from the Americans' final resting place. The German cemetery had more the air of a military cemetery. Dank, calm, reminiscent of the horrors of war, whether they'd been victorious or not.
A disproportionate amount of soldiers were 16 or 17 years old. Most of these kids had been five years old when Hitler first took power. And they all died...for what? Only the madman and his minions, now long dead, could possibly answer that. The older soldiers buried there had probably fought five or six years before their struggle gracefully ended.
I felt as bad for the Germans on my way home, I admit. In the end, both sides lose in war, no matter how we try to spin it. Prayers for all soldiers who fell.
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