Brunssum, The Netherlands – On Sunday, 29 May 2022, the Commander of Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, General Jörg Vollmer, participated in the U.S. Memorial Day Ceremony at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten.
The ceremony was organised by the American Battle Monuments Commission and commemorated U.S military personnel who gave their lives in battle. Several thousand guests, including the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mr. Mark Rutte; the Chargé d'Affaires of the United States, Ms. Marja Verloop; and the Chief of the Military Household of His Majesty the King, Rear Admiral Ludger Brummelaar, attended the ceremony.
Sixteen wreaths were laid in total to honour fallen U.S. service members, with Gen Vollmer laying a wreath on behalf of NATO forces. The Memorial Day ceremony concluded with a flyover of Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16s in the 'missing man' formation.
The Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is the sole U.S war cemetery in the Netherlands. It is the final resting place of 8,289 U.S. WWII soldiers, many of whom died in the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden in September 1944. Included among those 8,289 Americans are six recipients of the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. Military award, and four women. In addition to those buried there, the Walls of the Missing records the names of 1,722 missing U.S. soldiers whose final resting place is unknown.
In 2023, the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten will open a Visitor's Centre to highlight further the accomplishments and sacrifices of the soldiers laid to rest and commemorated there.