The
World War II Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial is located
three miles west of Cambridge on the A1303 and sixty miles north
of London. The site, thirty and a half acres in extent, was donated
by the University of Cambridge. It lies on a north slope with wide
prospect. Established on 7th December 1943, the American Cemetery
at Madingley is the only American WWII burial ground in England.
The 3,800 white crosses, and the Portland stone wall inscribed with
5,000 names, pay tribute to American servicemen and women who died
in the war. The cemetery is now designated a site of special historic
interest. The west and south sides of the cemetery are framed by
woodland. There are 3,812 American military dead buried there. On
the wall running from the entrance to the chapel are inscribed the
names of 5,126 Americans who gave their lives in the service of
their country, but whose remains were never recovered or identified.
Most of these died in the Battle of the Atlantic or in the strategic
air bombardment of Northwest Europe during World War II. Above the
names is an extract from President Eisenhower's dedication enshrined
in St. Paul's Cathedral, London. Along the Wall are four statues
representing a Soldier, a Sailor, an Airman and a Coast Guard in
their typical uniforms and weapons. The paving is of English York
sandstone.
From
the flag platform near the main entrance the great mall with its
reflecting pool stretches eastward. From this mall the headstones
in the burial area form a sweeping curve across the green lawn.
Along the south side of the mall is the Wall of the Missing. At
its far end is the chapel containing two huge military maps, stained
glass windows bearing the State Seals and military decorations,
and its mosaic ceiling with a memorial to our Air Forces Dead. The
base of the 72-foot flagpole in front of the Visitors' Building
carries an inscription taken from John McCrae's poem - In Flanders
Fields, '...To You From Failing Hands We Throw The Torch - Be Yours
To Hold It High." The graves are laid out from the flag platform
like a ribbed fan.
The
Memorial, like the great Wall, is built of Portland stone. On the
north face of the Memorial are five pylons each inscribed with a
date recalling the five years from 1941 through 1945 in which the
United States participated in the war. The main doors are of teakwood,
and bear the bronze models of military equipment and naval vessels.
The interior of the Memorial is divided into the large museum chamber,
and the smaller devotional chapel. There is a map indicating the
principal Atlantic sea routes, the types of naval and commercial
craft that guaranteed a supply of men and materiel to the European
front, the aircraft which operated in the antisubmarine campaign,
and the continuous air assault by the U.S. Army Air Force and the
Royal Air Force.
The
cemetery is open to visitors daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm except
for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

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