3-533: The Somme American Cemetery and Memorial in Picardie, France , is an American Battle Monuments Commission cemetery, situated ½ mile southwest of the commune of Bony , Aisne in northern France. It is located on a gentle slope typical of the open, rolling Picardy countryside. The 14.3-acre (58,000 m) war cemetery was established in October 1918 on ground which saw heavy fighting just before and during
6-771: The Battle of St Quentin Canal . It contains the graves of 1,844 of the United States' military dead from World War I . Most lost their lives in the assault on the Hindenburg Line while serving in American II Corps attached to the British Fourth Army . Others were killed in operations near Cantigny . The headstones, set in regular rows, are separated into four plots by paths that intersect at
9-409: The flagpole near the top of the slope. The longer axis leads to the chapel at the eastern end of the cemetery. A massive bronze door surmounted by an American eagle leads into the chapel, whose outer walls contain sculptured pieces of military equipment. Once inside, light from a cross-shaped crystal window above the marble altar bathes the subdued interior with light. The walls bear the names of 333 of
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