--- title: "The Dutch wait years to adopt World War II graves in Netherlands American Cemetery" description: "Though separated from World War II by more than a generation, the Dutch are deeply attached to the Netherlands American Cemetery." date: "2022-06-18" modified: "2026-01-06" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/netherlands-american-cemetery-adopt-graves/" categories: - "History" - "War History" - "World War II" tags: - "Military History" - "World War II" --- # The Dutch wait years to adopt World War II graves in Netherlands American Cemetery ![netherlands american cemetery dvids]() *U.S. Army WWII veteran Gene Metcalf visits one of his fallen comrades at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, the Netherlands, Sept. 20, 2025, during Operation Market Garden Commemoration Ceremonies. (David Overson/U.S. Army Europe)* There are so many rich, incredible facts surrounding the World War II-era Netherlands American Cemetery near the Dutch city of Maastricht. It lies along a highway that saw some of [history's most memorable names]()—Caesar, Charlemagne, and Napoleon, just to name a few. **Related: [3 Stories from the Battle of the Bulge you won’t see in ‘Band of Brothers’]()** In the 20th Century, Hitler's Wehrmacht also used the road to capture the Netherlands and Belgium and bring them into the Nazi Reich. What rests there now is a memorial and cemetery to those who fought to liberate the country from the grip of the Nazi war machine. The locals have never forgotten who died there and, from the looks of things, they never will. https://twitter.com/NLintheUSA/status/1081237320941125633 The cemetery is meticulously well-kept. A memorial tower overlooks a reflecting pool, and at the base of the tower is the statue of a mother grieving over her lost son. Elsewhere on the grounds is a list of the battles and operations fought by U.S. servicemen during World War II, the names of the 8,301 men buried there, and the names of the 1,722 who went missing while fighting in the Netherlands. Among the honored dead are seven Medal of Honor recipients and a major general. In all, it's a remarkable site with historic significance. The most significant thing about the 65-acre Netherlands American Cemetery is who takes care of each American gravestone. ![]() *(American Battle Monuments Commission) Wikimedia Commons* Since 1945, the Dutch people in the area have adopted individual graves, keeping the site clean and maintaining the individual memorials. They ensure that flowers adorn their adopted grave and that the name and deeds of the American interred there are never forgotten. They actually research the entire life of their adopted fallen GI. Some of them adopt more than one. "Ever since the end of WWII, people have adopted the graves of these men and women out of a deeply heartfelt gratitude for the sacrifices that they made for our freedom," local Sebastiaan Vonk [told an Ohio newspaper](). "They truly are our liberators and heroes." The [Foundation for Adopting Graves at the American Cemetery Margraten]() has hundreds of people waiting to join them. https://twitter.com/NtlVetNetwork/status/1399334853787590656 The Netherlands American Cemetery is one of the largest in the world, and its upkeep and memory are so important to the locals whose families saw the horrors of Nazi occupation. Even those separated by the 1945 liberation of the Netherlands by a generation or more still hold those names dear and are taking their remembrance project one step further: remembering their face. A new effort, [The Faces of Margraten](), seeks to collect photos of the men who died or went missing in liberating the Netherlands from Nazi occupation. On Dutch Memorial Day, the group displays personal photos of more than 3,000 of those interred in the cemetery, holding an event that "brings visitors face-to-face with their liberators." ### Don’t Miss the Best of We Are The Mighty ##### • [The American mafia teamed up with the Navy to get even with Mussolini]() ##### • [The ‘One Man Air Force’ took on dozens of enemy fighters even after his guns ran dry]() ##### • [This World War II veteran played a song for the sniper trying to kill him]() ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()