On the way to Paris we stopped at the American Cemetery in Luxembourg where over 5000 American soldiers are buried. These mostly are the soldiers who died in Germany, France and Luxembourg in WWII, particularly during the Battle of the Bulge. I couldn’t help but think of Jack Lay who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and had pretty horrific stories to tell about it!
Our guide told us his parents were living in Luxembourg when the Germans invaded for the second time. The first time, at the beginning of the war, they annexed Luxembourg and conscripted all the young men to fight for Germany. When they invaded the second time they created a bulge in the Allied lines as they attempted stop the Allied offensive. They completely occupied Luxembourg at this time and our guide’s parents fled to Belgium. The Allies prevailed, but lost 19,000 soldiers. The Germans lost 23,000.
During and after the war many of the American soldiers who died were buried at the American Cemetery in Luxembourg. General Patton is buried there. His wife at one point asked to have his
Our French guide said something similar on the way into Paris. She said children in Paris all make a compulsorary visit to the American cemetery to make sure they understand the depth of sacrifice the Americans made to help secure France’s freedom. She said that even thought the French sometimes appear standoffish, they remember what Americans did in the war and appreciate America.
