Embassy Programs & Events
Memorial Day 2008
U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Sam Fox and other dignitaries spoke at three Memorial Day ceremonies on May 24 and 25.
There are three American military cemeteries in Belgium. Flanders Field, where 368 Americans killed in World War I are buried; Henri-Chappelle, where 7,992 from World War II are buried, and at the Ardennes, where 5,329 more from World War II lay at rest. Hundreds of Belgians attend the ceremonies every year to honor those who fell in both World Wars.
One of the highlights of the ceremony at Flanders Field is when young Belgian schoolchildren sing the Star-Spangled Banner. This is a tradition that has been going since the 1920's and continues to bring around 100 young school children to the cemetery every year, along with their parents and grandparents, who also sang when they were kids.
Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme spoke at Flanders Fields cemetery, the first time a sitting Prime Minister has done so in many years.
Over the weekend the francophone financial daily l'Echo published an op-ed by Ambassador Fox in which he wrote:" I am honored to be Ambassador to this nation where people have built so many poignant traditions to remind younger generations that the freedom we enjoy today came at a terrible cost of Belgian and American lives in the dark years between 1914-1945. This is just one example of the many interweavings of our history and values which have forged an unassailable bond between our nations. For this friendship, there is no expiration date."