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| Suresnes American Cemetery | | Suresnes
Ile-de-France Region France
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Cemetery notes and/or description:
The Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial is situated on the wooded east slope of Mont Valerien in the commune of Suresnes, 4 miles west of the center of Paris. It can be reached by automobile, taxicab or metro and suburban trains; the latter depart about every 15 minutes from the Gare St. Lazare to the Suresnes Mont-Valerien station. From the Suresnes station it is only a 10-minute walk to the cemetery via the Boulevard Washington.
In 1811, Emperor Napoleon I confiscated Mont Valerien with the intention of building a home for the orphans of the Legion of Honor. During a subsequent visit to the site, he changed his mind and decided to build a fort. Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815 stopped the work and Mont Valerien was built and is presently in use by the French Signal Corps. During World War II, German troops occupied the fort where they executed over 4500 polical prisoners and members of the Resistance Movement. The French people have erected an impressive monument along the south wall of the fort to commemorate this sacrifice.
The American military cemetery at Suresnes was established in 1917 by the Graves Registration Service of the Army Quartermaster Corps. A majority of the World War I dead buried there died of wounds or sickness in hospitals located in Paris or at other places administered by the Services of Supply. (Many were victims of the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919.) The graves area consists of four burial plots: three of World War I, with a total of 1541 graves, and one of World War II, containing the graves of 24 unknown soldiers, sailors, or airmen.
Thus, Mont Valerien has become a symbol and a site of pilgrimage for both the French and the American peoples to honor democracy's struggle in the cause of freedom. (Information courtesy American Battle Monuments Commission.) |
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| Interactive map and GPS data:
GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 48.87193, Longitude: 2.21866
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