Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial, Military cemetery and memorial in Belleau, France

The Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial is a burial ground in Belleau containing roughly 2,300 graves arranged in rows across flat, well-kept grounds. A chapel sits at the center, inscribed with the names of those whose remains were never recovered.

The cemetery was established to honor American soldiers who died in 1918 during World War I, particularly in the Battle of Belleau Wood. This battle was one of the bloodiest engagements for American forces in the war.

The cemetery is planted with plane trees and polyantha roses along the main walk, with beds of forsythia, box, deutzia, lilac and magnolia framing the grave plots. The chapel walls list 1,060 soldiers missing in action, and the names of the 48 states of the time and the District of Columbia are represented among the graves. The site is run by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

The grounds are open to visitors daily and feature clear pathways between graves that are easy to walk through. Staff members can help locate specific graves and answer questions about the history.

Inside the Memorial Chapel, on the wall to the right of the entrance, a small hole was made by a passing German anti-tank gun; it is kept as it was, not repaired. The chapel itself stands over front-line trenches dug by the 2nd US Division to defend Belleau Wood after its capture on 25 June 1918.