Dutch adopt US war graves to harbor memories of the country’s liberation 80 years ago
By MIKE CORDER
Updated 5:51 AM EDT, September 12, 2024
MARGRATEN, Netherlands (AP) — In the rolling hills of the southern Netherlands, locals have vowed to never forget the American and other Allied soldiers who gave their lives in the fight to liberate towns and villages from the Nazi occupation in World War II.
Nowhere is the deep-rooted gratitude of the post-war generations more clear than in the 65.5 acres of manicured lawns and white marble headstones of the Netherlands American Cemetery on a hill just outside the village of Margraten.
The hallowed burial ground is hosting a concert Thursday to mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the liberation of the Netherlands.
Hundreds of people like Ton Hermes and Maria Kleijnen have chosen to “adopt” one of the 8,288 Americans buried there.
It’s an act of gratitude and remembrance that started almost as soon as the war ended and endures to this day.
https://apnews.com/article/netherlands-liberation-anniversary-cemetery-america-8566e65d79d17c5eee4bbf7524f5169c
