In 2015, 2016 and 2018 the 'Fields of Honor Foundation' was allowed by the American Battle Monuments Commission to organize the honor project 'The Faces of Margraten 'at the Netherlands American Cemetery & Memorial.
Below you will find an impression of these events at Margraten Cemetery.
2015
The (Dutch Language) public relations leaflet announcing the first edition of 'De gezichten van Margraten' ('The Faces of Margraten'),
organized from the 2nd to the 5th of May 2015.
Our project was planned to take place in the Dutch commemoration week; the first week of May.
On the 4th of May the Dutch commemorate the WW2 war dead and those killed in post-war peace-keeping or peace-enforcing operations.
On the 5th of May the Dutch celebrate their liberation from German occupation in 1940-1945.
After the official opening on the 2nd of May 2015 the Master of Ceremony (Arie-Jan van Hees) explains to the official guests about the intentions of the Fields of Honor Foundation: 'to add faces to names' and to share the stories of the men and women who are buried / commemorated at the Netherlands American Cemetery & Memorial with the general public. This is done by means of our 'Faces of Margraten project' and our website 'Fields of Honor Database' .
From left to right in the above picture:
-Master of Ceremony: Arie-Jan van Hees,
-Chairman of the Fields of Honor Foundation: Sebastiaan Vonk,
-US Army Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel Rzasowski,
-Deputy Governor of the Dutch Province of Limburg: Mr. Ger Koopmans,
-Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy, The Hague: Mr. Adam Sterling,
-US Army Attache: Colonel Leo Buzzerio,
-ABMC Superintendent: Mr. Keith Stadler.
Above: an impression of the 2015 project.
2016
The 2016 public relation leaflet.
Note that the 2015 leaflet carried the text: "Meet Owen Owen Jr and more than 3.000 other soldiers during 'The Faces of Margraten'.
In 2016 the number of photographs had risen to more than 4.000!
Thanks to the help of our volunteers, adopters, veterans' organizations any many friendly helpers in the Netherlands, the USA, and other countries, we were able to add many new photographs to our Fields of Honor Database.
Above: our splendid volunteer team of the Fields of Honor Foundation. Our chairman Sebastiaan Vonk on the extreme left and the moderator of this website on the extreme right.
2018
The 2018 public relation leaflet.
Note that, again, the number of photographs to be displayed during 'The Faces of Margraten' has risen.
From 4.000+ in 2016 to 5.750+ in May 2018.
Regrettably, due to the Covid pandemic in 2019-2022 and the recent construction activities of the building of a Visitor's Center at Margraten Cemetery, our Foundation has had no possibility to organize another 'Faces of Margraten' project.
In 2024 the southern provinces of The Netherlands commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation from Nazi oppression in 1944.
Our Foundation would be thrilled to organize, once again, a new edition of 'The Faces of Margraten' but as yet it is uncertain if this will be possible.
In the mean time the number of photographs in our Fields of Honor Database has risen to 8.500+, approaching the 9.000 figure.
Above: our 'Faces of Margraten' 2018 volunteer team.
On the left, in shirt and tie, a stalwart supporter of our project, Mr. Keith Stadler, Superintendent of the American Battle Monuments Commission.
We are always on the lookout to add missing photographs to our Fields of Honor Database.
Can you help us by supplying photographs for our Margraten / Ardennes / Henri Chapelle / Luxembourg / Epinal / Lorraine cemetery database?
Do visit the above mentioned websites and contact us!