HEADSTONES. In 1872 Congress first appropriated money for headstones of durable stone for use in national cemeteries. Today the Quartermaster General is authorized to furnish, at Government expense, headstones and markers for the unmarked graves of soldiers of the Union and Confederate Armies of the Civil War; for the unmarked graves of all members of the Armed Forces of the United States who died in the service; for the graves of former members whose last service terminated honorably; and for all unmarked graves in post and national cemeteries. By 1 January 1958 approximately 2,170,000 headstones and markers had been furnished since 1872. CEMETERIES AND MONUMENTS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. As explained above, these are under the jurisdiction of the American Battle Monuments Commission. At each of the cemeteries, the Commission has erected, or is in process of erecting, suitable memorial structures. It has also built many monuments at sites, other than cemeteries, which are of historic significance in connection with the operations of our Armed Forces. World Cemeteries and Monuments, War I. There are eight military cemeteries on foreign soil for our dead of World War I, as follows Aisne-Marne, near Belleau (Aisne), France. St. Mihiel, Thiaucourt (M. et M.), France. At each cemetery there is a memorial chapel, designed by an eminent American architect, beautiful in design and restful in spirit, where visitors may go for meditation and prayer. The chapels are nondenominational. Five of the cemeteries in France, and the one in Belgium, are on American battlefields. On the walls of the chapels at each of these are inscribed the names of American soldiers who lost their lives in the vicinity and whose bodies were never identified. In addition, the chapel at the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery bears the names of the unidentified dead of the Services of Supply and of the American expedition to northern Russia. The names of American soldiers and sailors who lost their lives by sea appear on the walls of the Suresnes and Brookwood chapels. The Commission has also erected, and it maintains, monuments of various types at other locations associated with our participation in World War I, as follows Audenarde, Belgium. Bellicourt (Aisne), France. CEMETERIES, WORLD WAR II. In 1947 fourteen sites in foreign countries were selected by the Secretary of the Army, with the assistance of the American Battle Monuments Commission, for permanent military cemeteries, as follows vados), France. Rhône (at Draguignan, Var), France. Ardennes (near Neuville-en-Condroz), Belgium. Henri-Chapelle, Belgium. Netherlands (near Margraten), Holland. Sicily-Rome (Nettuno, near Rome), Italy. In these cemeteries were to be concentrated the American dead from the several hundred temporary cemeteries that had been previously established by the Quartermaster General's Graves Registration Service, which were not to be otherwise disposed of in accordance with the wishes of next-of-kin (see above). The project was carried out cooperatively by the Battle Monuments Commission and the Graves Registration Service. The Commission selected fourteen outstanding American architects, each to design one of the cemeteries complete; the general layout, the graves plots, and the memorial structure would be integrated into a harmonious whole. On approval of the architect's plan for a cemetery, the Graves Registration Service interred the bodies in accordance therewith and handled the associated administrative work. Beginning in the latter part of 1949, the permanent interments having been virtually completed, the cemeteries were progressively transferred to the Commission by Executive Order. The other elements of the architects' plans were then executed, step by step, under the Commission's supervision. For the design of the various memorials no specific requirement was imposed upon the architects beyond the budgeted cost, except that each should embody these features A small devotional chapel. Inscription of the names and particulars of the missing in the region. A graphic record, in permanent form, of the services of our troops. These requirements have been interpreted in a wide and interesting variety of forms. con An important motive for the construction of the memorials was the implied undertaking by our Government to record by monuments the achievements of our Armed Services, since, by Department orders, the erection of monuments by the troops (which unfortunately have been found to be often poorly designed, poorly structed and lacking provision for maintenance) was expressly forbidden. The "permanent graphic" record takes the form of maps, usually quite large murals, amplified by descriptive texts in English as well as the language of the country in which the cemetery is situated. The historical data (in the form of map layouts and texts) were prepared by the American Battle Monuments Commission; the maps were rendered in tasteful presentation by experienced artists. In no two cases is the method-or even the materialsthe same; the map may be of layered marbles, or in fresco, perhaps in bronze relief, or in ceramics. Another feature of interest at each memorial is the two sets of "Key-Maps": "The War Against Germany" and "The War Against Japan." Each set consists of three maps, each covering about one-third of the period of our participation in the war. By these Key-Maps each major battle may be related to all others in time and space. In the World War I military cemetery at Suresnes in France, where on ceremonial occasions representatives of the American and French Governments pay homage to our dead, 24 unidentified American dead of World War II were interred. The chapel was enlarged and converted into a shrine to commemorate those who gave their lives in both wars. Other World War II Monument Projects of the Commission. Names and particulars of 4,596 Americans who, in or above the waters off the east coasts of North and South America, gave their lives in the service of their country. are to be inscribed on a memorial to be erected at New York. Similarly, the names and particulars of those 412 Americans who gave their lives off the west coasts of the Americas will be recorded at a memorial to be erected at San Francisco. Although the national cemetery at Honolulu is maintained by the Department of the Army, the American Battle Monuments Commission, by agreement with the Secretary of the Army, will erect a memorial therein, similar in object to those built in the other oversea cemeteries. Buried at the cemetery are 13,510 dead of World War II and 1,200 who died in the Korean operations; the memorial will record 18,106 missing of World War II and 8,000 missing in Korea. The memorial will also embody the customary chapel and maps. MEMBERSHIP OF THE AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION. The present membership is as followsGeorge C. Marshall, Chairman Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid, U.S. Navy, Ret'd., Gen. Alexander A. Vandegrift, U.S.M.C., Ret'd. Hon. Charles E. Potter, U.S. Senator from Michigan Hon. John Phillips, former Member of Congress from California Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. Gen. Carl Spaatz, U.S.A.F., Ret'd. Hon. Forest A. Harness, former Senate Master at Arms and Member of Congress from Indiana Maj. Gen. Thomas North, Secretary THE MILITARY FUNERAL The ceremonial elements of our military funerals are rooted in longtime usage. Taps, the funeral volley over the grave, the use of the national colors as a pall-all these have been an integral part of funeral honors to American military dead since the infancy of the Republic. Military funerals are divided into three general classifications. These are (1) the funeral with chapel service, followed by the march to the grave or place of local disposition with the prescribed escort; (2) the funeral without chapel service, with the funeral procession forming at the entrance to the cemetery; and (3) the funeral consisting of graveside services only. In a full military funeral, following the services at the chapel, a procession consisting of a band, an escort appropriate to the rank and grade of the deceased (including firing party and bugler), the colors, the clergy, a hearse or caisson to carry the casket, six military pallbearers, and honorary pallbearers is formed. If the deceased has served in the past as a mounted officer or enlisted man, a caparisoned horse may be led in the procession. For carrying the casket it is more common to use a hearse, but the old custom of using a horse-drawn caisson is still followed on occasion. The procession moves to the grave site, where the casket is carried from the hearse or caisson to the grave by the military pallbearers. The services of an Army chaplain are provided unless the family of the deceased requests some other clergyman to officiate. In this, as in all other aspects of the military funeral, the desires of the family are given the fullest possible consideration. When a firing party is included in the ceremonies, the commander brings the escort to attention at the completion of the graveside service. He then commands: ESCORT LESS FIRING PARTY, PRESENT ARMS; FIRING PARTY, FIRE THREE VOLLEYS. The firing party fires three volleys of blank cartridges. assumes the position of ready, and remains in this position until the conclusion of Taps. At the command ARMS, the bugler takes position at the head of the grave, and sounds Taps immediately following the last volley. At the conclusion of Taps, the flag is folded and given to the next of kin of the deceased. Thereby is symbolized the fact that the deceased served in the Armed Forces of the United States, and that his country, in conducting his ceremonial interment, has given its final and solemn recognition of the obligation which it owes to a faithful servant. First Continental Congress meets at Philadelphia. Adjourns 26 October. Crown Point, New York, captured from British. Birth date of United States Army. Continental Congress votes to Continental Congress appoints George Washington Commander-in- Adjutant General's Corps established. Finance Corps established. Quartermaster Corps established. Battle of Bunker (Breed's) Hill. 17 June 17 June -17 March, 1776, Boston Campaign. Washington assumes command of army besieging Boston. Army Medical Service established. Judge Advocate General's Corps established. Chaplains Corps established. U.S. Navy established. American forces under Brig. Gen. Richard Montgomery capture Force under Col. Benedict Arnold arrives on St. Lawrence opposite U.S. Marine Corps established. Montreal surrenders to General Montgomery. Quebec Campaign. Final reorganization of American forces at Boston as Continental Oldest present-day Regular Army unit authorized. 1st Field Artillery Continental Congress establishes Board of War and Ordnance, com- British attack on Charleston, South Carolina, repulsed. Continental Congress appoints Commissioner of Artillery Stores Long Island Campaign. British occupy New York City; Washington retreats to Harlem Heights. Congress completes "The Articles of War," with the injunction that they be read every two months at the head of each company, troop, and regiment. Battle of Harlem Heights. Captain Nathan Hale captured by the British and later hanged as a spy. Battle of White Plains. Fort Washington, New York, surrenders to British. Gen. Nathanael Greene surrenders Fort Lee to British. Birth date of Armor: one regiment of cavalry authorized by Continental Congress. Washington crosses the Delaware and defeats Hessians in surprise attack at Trenton. Princeton Campaign. Kegs of powder floated on Delaware River to destroy British fleet; 1 For descriptions of the wars, campaigns, and battles named in this chapter, see chapters 26, 27, and 29. 2 The official name of a military campaign, in Army usage, includes the name of the war, thus: "Ticonderoga Campaign, Revolutionary War." In this chapter the name of the war is omitted unless necessary for clarity, -17 October, Saratoga Campaign. Battle of Oriskany. Battle of Bennington. Brandywine Campaign. Battle of Freeman's Farm. British forces, led by Howe, occupy Philadelphia unopposed. Battle of Bemis Heights. Burgoyne surrenders to Gates at Saratoga. Office of Inspector General established. Winter quarters of Continental troops established at Valley Forge. Congress rejects British peace offer. Americans will be satisfied only British evacuate Philadelphia. Monmouth campaign. -11 November, Indian massacres in northern Pennsylvania and southern New York require army expeditions, under the command of Maj. Gen. John Sullivan, to protect the settlers. Lt. Col. George Rogers Clark begins successful campaign to take what is now Kentucky, Illinois, and parts of Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio from the British. France declares war against Great Britain. Franco-American attack on Newport, Rhode Island, fails. Tories and Indians massacre settlers of Cherry Valley, New York. British capture Augusta, Georgia. Spain declares war against Great Britain. American light infantry under Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne storms fort at Stony Point on Hudson in silent bayonet attack. The Bonhomme Richard, commanded by Captain John Paul Jones, defeats the British Serapis. Franco-American assault on defenses of Savannah, Georgia, fails. Maj. Gen. Benjamin Lincoln surrenders entire force to British at Battle of Camden. Major Andre, a British agent, is captured and reveals plot of Maj. Congress reduces authorized strength of Continental Army to 58 Battle of King's Mountain. Six regiments of Pennsylvania line mutiny. No one is brought to trial for the outbreak. Benedict Arnold with British troops plunders and burns Richmond (Va.). Battle of Cowpens. Mutiny of New Jersey troops ended by execution of two leaders. Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Battle of Hobkirk's Hill. Washington begins movement of French and American forces south French fleet under de Grasse defeats British fleet and bottles up Battle of Eutaw Springs. -19 October, Yorktown Campaign. Cornwallis surrenders on 19 October. Maj. Gen. Benjamin Lincoln appointed Secretary of War. This office replaces Board of War and Ordnance and constitutes second step in evolution of War Department. Savannah, Georgia, evacuated by British. The Badge of Military Merit (Purple Heart) established by General Charleston, South Carolina, evacuated by British. General armistice is effective between Great Britain and the United Great Britain and United States sign definitive Treaty of Peace at Washington bids farewell to his officers at Fraunces' Tavern, New York. Congress again directs disbandment of Army, stating "standing Armies in time of Peace are inconsistent with the principles of republican government," but retains a caretaking establishment of 80 artillerymen. Congress authorizes the raising of 700 untrained militia to garrison the western posts. Congress authorizes the raising of a body of 700 noncommissioned officers and privates for a term of three years to be organized into one regiment of 8 companies of infantry and 2 companies of artillery. Regiment remains as 3d Infantry Regiment, oldest in Regular Army. -February, 1787, "Shays' Rebellion." |