Memorial Day 2010 at Henri-Chapelle
PFC Howard E. Merryman is honored by his Granddaughter, Sue,
and his Daughter, Barbara Merryman Swensen. The two stories below --
Days 5 and 6 of their trip -- speak for themselves.
Memorial Day Weekend May 29, 2010 -- A First Visit to Henri Chapelle
A Day to Remember
A journal entry By C M GartnerDay 5 will go down as one of the most powerful and memorable in my life. We are here in Liege with a group (American WWII Orphans Network - AWON) of orphaned children of WWII solders that were killed in this area and buried here in Belgium.
They are here to visit the grave of their loved one on Memorial Day the day designated for such a celebration. Quite frankly I have always looked at Memorial Day as the unofficial beginning of summer and a day off of work. After today, no Memorial Day will ever be taken so lightly again, EVER.
Sue’s Grandfather, PFC Howard Merryman was killed in Luxemburg on February 20, 1945 and is buried in Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Hombourg, Belgium. His marker is our destination today. Howard died when Barbara was 8 years old, today she told me she was lucky to have known her Father. I am sure there were many times in her life she didn’t feel so lucky. Howard is buried with 7,991 other soldiers all of whom gave their lives in the name of Freedom. They were kids with their lives ahead of them, most of them 18 or 19 years old.
Before we went to the cemetery, we were to be guests of the President of the Provincial Council -- a Mrs. Myriam Abad-Perick at the Provincial Palace of the Province de Liege. I am not sure about Provincial but Palace it was in all its opulence and pomp. She was kind enough to honor the orphans and thank them for their families commitment to Belgium’s freedom. I got the feeling that she was sincere and so are the people of Belgium at least those that stop long enough to understand that freedom was valiantly earned by humble young men and women that did it unconditionally so that future generations would have a better life. There were two men in the group that fought in WWII and were honored by the Madam President. One wore his uniform and gave a speech that would humble even the most noble man. Ask me to tell you the story and it will be my honor, it will be some time before I forget the details. The other man, tall and distinguished, would prefer to be along side of his wife and just blend in with the group. After the photo ops and the small talk we headed to Henri-Chapelle to visit our past that provided our future.
Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery is in Hombourg, Belgium about a 25 minute bus ride through beautiful countryside. We could not have asked for more gorgeous weather -- it was 65 degrees and sunny most of the day. Perfect weather to see what I was about to see. When we arrived at HC, you could see a well-manicured lawn and a colonnade of 24 pylons and at each end of the colonnade was a large interior area. One end was a chapel with the dedicatory inscription:
1941-1945 IN PROUD REMEMBRANCE OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF HER SONS
AND IN HUMBLE TRIBUTE TO THEIR SACRIFICES THIS MEMORIAL HAS BEEN
ERECTED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.At the other end was the Museum and Visitors Room. This is where the wonderful Belgian volunteers work to preserve this wonderful place of honor. Also there are large maps that provide visual accounts of the history of WWII using the walls as maps. But it is what is beyond this facade that we are really here to see. When you walk through the pylons and look out over the lawn it is breathtaking. You are not sure whether to smile or cry, so you do both.
The vista is manicured as if it were Augusta National the day before the Masters. Immediately in front is the bronze statue of the Angel bestowing the olive branch upon the heroic Dead. Behind this Angel is a slice of Heaven on earth. 7,992 gravestone crosses marking the fallen soldiers stand side by side in what appears to be military formation. This tribute to these men and women is appropriate. It is a beautiful, quiet spot on the rolling countryside where they gave their lives to save our lives. A more apropos spot I cannot imagine.
We found PFC Howard Merryman honored in spot F-9-12. His granite cross was among his comrades standing shoulder to shoulder -- only today he was with his daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter, and me. I did not feel worthy but I did feel honored and blessed. I am certain that appreciation and living life with gusto and character is all these markers would ask. I doubt that any of these men or women feels they did anything heroic; they would tell you they did what anyone would have done. To them it was a duty and honor, but nothing special, just what any normal Joe would do for his fellow man. Ordinary names listed side by side, row after row, section after section bound together forever in an extraordinary place because of extraordinary heroism.
Today I saw the price of war in the crosses bearing the names of the fallen soldiers and I saw the cost of war in Barbara’s tears.
The Ceremony - Another Day to Remember
A journal entry By C M GartnerDay 6 somehow topped Day 5. This was the day of the formal Memorial Day Ceremony at Henri-Chapelle. Complete with dignitaries, a marching band, and a fly over in the missing man formation. We all got to the cemetery early and had time to walk the grounds and spend some private time with each other.
Yesterday was about the beauty of the cemetery and the fact that Sue was able to share this experience with her Mom. Barbara got to posthumously introduce her daughter to her Grandfather. You could feel the peace and love. The symbolism of sacrifice and selflessness in the name of Freedom at this cemetery was overwhelming. It was as if honor and duty met its debtor and the debt was forgiven.
Today’s Devine feeling came from the outcry of genuine appreciation for these US soldiers and their families and their ultimate sacrifice on behalf of European freedom. Somehow Sue found time to buy different color roses and hand pick some other garnish to make a bouquet for her Mom. She gave the flowers to her Mom on behalf of each of the kids, there were 5 roses 3 of which were pink to represent the girls and the other two white to represent the boys. Barbara clung to those flowers with the same passion and love she used to raise her children.
When we got to the cemetery, Barbara placed some flowers on a grave site for a friend. We decided to go back to Sue’s grandfather’s grave to get a few pictures before the big ceremony started. As we approached the grave site we could see there was a man standing in front of PFC Howard Merrymen’s grave and he appeared to be praying. He was indeed praying.
We asked his name and he replied Hans Knobloch. When we told him that Barbara was Howard’s daughter and Sue was his granddaughter, Hans smiled. He didn’t know much English but he explained that he was praying for this man and this grave because he felt it was something he had to do. He told us he woke up today and told his wife that he was going to pray for “this man” and he pointed to the name Howard Merryman on the grave stone.
He was a big man with a gentle nature that had driven 40 KM from his home in Germany to attend the Memorial Day ceremony at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery. He chose this grave stone because of the flowers and said he wondered “where all the flowers had gone” like the song, he sang a few bars for us in German with a big smile on his face. It was obvious even through our limited ability to communicate that he felt that all the grave sites in the cemetery deserved beautiful flowers like the display that was placed by Barbara at the base of her Father’s granite cross head stone.
Hans stayed for a few minutes and tried to communicate his appreciation for Howard and all the Allied Armed Forces it didn’t matter that he couldn’t find the most eloquent English words you could feel his admiration and appreciation. He was genuine in his animation and passionate expression. If the character of a man is defined by his actions when no one is looking, Hans is a man of the highest character. He closed his eyes and prayed for a name on a granite stone alone on 57 acres of land that was once a battlefield before he was born and his only reason was to give thanks. Perhaps Hans was simply doing what God had asked. When he opened his eyes he saw that man’s daughter and granddaughter and had a chance to share his feelings. It is God’s irony that on the sight of such atrocity can rise such humanity, I guess if we are patient and believe with conviction, anything is possible.
The ceremony started with dignitaries filing in and a helicopter landing marking the arrival of someone important. I am not sure if it was the Representative to the King, the US Representative to NATO, the local Mayor, or the Ambassador of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Belgium, all of whom were in attendance. Personally I have never been a big ceremony guy. To me the word ceremony too many times takes a meaning of putting on a show to recognize a few while forgetting the many that supported the recognized few.
Today the ceremony recognized the many while a few humbly spoke and regardless of their social stature the show was not about them. It was obvious that the speakers as well as the thousands that had gathered at this American cemetery in Belgium were there because of their heroes. Not only the granite stone crosses with names but everyone who supported the effort to rebuke a tyrant and help good conquer evil. Now that is what a ceremony should be. Barbara was treated as one of the dignitaries and we were seated in the third row overlooking the cemetery and countless floral arrangements and solders standing at attention holding flags. We were directly beneath the Angel bestowing the olive branch and when I turned to see how many people were behind us I could not believe that there where thousands of people both seated and standing in admiration of the fallen soldiers and what they represented.
As an American, I am proud of my country and its history but I have never been to a military cemetery and here I was in Belgium and literally thousands of Europeans from many countries had come specifically to celebrate and pay tribute to US soldiers. I was touched because this is love and appreciation in its purist form these people were motivated to be at this location only to give thanks and humble themselves. It is hard to describe, but all of a sudden Hans wasn’t such an anomaly to me; he was actually representative of a lot of the people in this area. And that warms my heart.
This day left me feeling a strong sense of respect and responsibility. Respect for the solders that gave their lives as well as the families that had to accept their sacrifice and grieve their loss with honor. Respect for the Europeans, for on their soil battles were fought and lives forever destroyed in the name of Freedom. A responsibility to somehow live to this standard or at least aspire to the standard set by these people. A responsibility to look at the world with a view not of entitlement or arrogance but of cooperation and righteousness.
It is as if God dropped 7,992 pebbles in a pond and each one caused their own individual ripples, but over time they overlap and today I was a spot on the latest ripple caused by PFC Howard Merryman on February 20, 1945. It was a very peaceful place to be and by the Grace of God I am blessed to be there with Sue and her parents. I am confident that over time the ripples go away and we are simply left with a beautiful quiet reflection pond.
In Their Memory
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