Forgotten Memorials: An Introduction

2008-06-17T12:52:00.000-07:00

The remains of 30,402 American soldiers killed during the Second World War lie in these cemeteries, which reside on or near the battlefields: two in Normandy, two in Lorraine, one in Ile-de-France and one in Provence. The cemeteries are maintained and operated by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), an agency of the Executive Branch of the Federal government. Each cemetery has its own set of American architects and artists. These park-like burial grounds were constructed during the 1950s, after the French government granted use of the land, in perpetuity, to the United States. My dissertation examines the range of functions, both original and more recent, that these cemeteries have performed: as war memorials, as diplomatic gestures, as Cold War political statements, as prompts for debate about Franco-American relations and even about the nature of French identity itself. I also study how these functions have changed and intertwined over time.

Currently I am studying the role of the reception of the cemeteries by French citizens in the surrounding communities.

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Greetings! Welcome to my blog about my dissertation research on the American military cemeteries in France from World War II. My research primarily examines the five American cemeteries from World War II located in France, but I welcome all comments related to the subject of war memory.

The artists and architects that I am dealing with are listed below, with their work.

Normandy American Cemetery

Location: Saint-Laurent-sur-mer, Normandy (DDAY beach)
Architect: Harbeston, Hough, lvingingston and Larson
Sculptor: Donald De Lue; cast by Fonderie Battaglia; urns cast by Fonderia Ferdinando Marinelli
French Craftsmen: Jean Bourdet (ceramic ceiling) Maurice Schmidt (maps and inscription of names of missing)
Map designer: Robert Foster
Painter: Leon Kroll
Landscape Architect: Markley Stevenson of Wheelwright & Stevenson (PA) (Robert Wheelwright, FASLA, Markley Stevenson MASLA Registered Professional Engineer
Local Representative: Paul J. Branche

Brittany American Cemetery

Location: St. James, Normandy (the southern-most region)
Architect: William T. Aldrich
Sculptor: Lee Lawrie
French craftsmen: Jean Juge (sculpture) François Lorin (stained glass; designed and executed); M. Gougeon and or The Earley Studio (maps of mosaic concrete in chapel)
Map designer: Edward Shenton
Landscape Architect: Arthur Shurcliff
Local Representative: André le Donnné,

Lorraine American Cemetery

Location: St. Avold, Lorraine
Architect:Murphy and Locraft
Sculptor: Michael Lantz
French Crafstman: Georgette Pierre (Maps)
Map designer: Pierre Bourdelle
Local Representative: Pierre Edouard Lambert

Epinal American Cemetery

Location: Epinal, Vosges
Architects: Delano & Aldrich, New York, NY
Sculptor: Malvina Hoffman;
French craftsmen: Jean Juge (sculpture) Maurice Schmidt (engraver of letters)
Mosaic Artist/ Painter: Eugene Savage, New Haven, Connecticut
Landscape Architect: Homer L. Fry, Texas
Local Representative: Georges Dengler, Nice

Rhone American Cemetery

Location: Draguignan, Provence
Architects: Toombs & Creighton, Atlanta, GA
Sculptor: Edmond Amateis
French craftsman: Jean Dufossé (sculpture) Jean Demarque (mosaic) Georges Granger (sculpture-carver)
Map designer: Bruno Bearzi
Mosaic Artist/ Painter: Austin Purves
Landscape Architect: A. F. Brinkerhoff
Local Representative: Georges Sauvan, Cannes