Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial

My great grandfather, William Clow, who died before I turned two, was unlucky enough to have lost one of his sons in World War II and a brother in World War I, both in France.  William's brother, Calvin, is buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial in the Meuse region of France.  There are over 14,000 American soldiers buried there, who were lost in the last offensive against Germany, that ended the war.  Calvin died exactly seven days before the Germans surrendered.


As far as I know, until now, no one from my family has ever been able to visit his grave.  I was the first.  It took 92 years.  These are the pictures I took of his marker and the other fallen soldiers who rest there beside him.

The cemetery is surrounded by farmland and small villages.  It is a beautiful drive, once you leave the main toll road coming out of Paris, and venture out onto the country roads.

We are going to spend the next six days outside of Paris.  Yesterday we explored the Meuse area of Lorraine.  Today we explore the Champagne region, and then the next four days we will be the Burgundy region.   In the next post, I'll tell you about the chateau we stayed in, our first night outside of Paris.