The Dutch in Margraten Keep the Faith
Dressed in orange, the people of Margraten, The Netherlands come to a cemetery with flowers. They spread over the 65 acres and 8300 headstones tending each with the honorable love that comes from a sense of proprietorship. What makes this notable is that this is not a cemetery filled with the graves of the Dutch, but Americans. Margraten is the sight of over 13 American cemeteries that dot Europe, resting places for the dead of World War I and World War II. None of these may be better cared for than the one in Margraten, where there is a waiting list of people hoping to be given the care of a grave. Dutch devotion has not waivered. The care has not become routine. The Dutch remember. By the late summer of 1944 D-Day had already launched its spearhead of justice toward the Nazi forces that had spread like cancer across Europe. The town of Margraten (located between the borders of Germany and Belgium) had been freed from Nazi occupation, but