Veterans Day

By Nancy Battick

Nov. 11 is the official day dedicated to honoring our veterans. The date was chosen because the bloodbath that was World War I was brought to a truce on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.   

I’d wager almost every family had or has a veteran who served during a foreign war. Most of these veterans returned, reunited with loved ones, lived their lives, and are buried in hometown cemeteries with their families. Others are buried in national cemeteries such as Togus.

But what about those who didn’t return? Where are they buried? Are their graves cared for? Are they remembered? The answer is yes.

Well over 130,000 American veterans buried overseas can be found in 25 cemeteries. These cemeteries, while overseas, are the property of the United States and are located in countries such as the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Cuba, Papua New Guinea, Korea, and Tunisia. Americans buried in these cemeteries fought in four wars — World Wars I and II, Korea and Vietnam. While many graves are named, others lie under stones “Known But To God.”

The most famous veteran buried abroad is Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of President “Teddy” Roosevelt. Ted Jr., despite suffering from severe arthritis that required him to navigate with a cane, nonetheless insisted on landing on D-Day and played a crucial role at Utah Beach. He is buried in the Normandy American Cemetery in France. 

How do you find out where your veteran may be buried, whether in this country or overseas? Luckily, there are several sites online where you can find information.

Start your search by creating a free account at FamilySearch.org and reading their wiki page on “United States Military Cemetery Records.” The page is loaded with links which will help you in your search, whether to a national cemetery or the American Battle Monuments Commission, which is responsible for overseas veterans’ cemeteries. The latter website has information and links to the veterans buried overseas as well as a listing of the 94,093 missing in action or those who were buried at sea. 

You can also find links to the overseas cemeteries themselves. I checked out the Florence (Italy) American Cemetery, located on 70 acres south of Florence. On the website is all the information you’ll need, including hours of operation, directions, contact information, photos and burial records.  All overseas cemeteries will have the same type of information.

You can also search sites such as www.cem.va.gov, ancestry.com, My Heritage and others for information on cemeteries located in the United States. Family Search has links to Togus National Cemetery in Augusta here in Maine, the World War I enlistment cards at the Maine State Archives, and the Maine Veterans Cemetery records, as well as Civil War enlistment cards.

So on the 11th, salute and honor our veterans and thank them sincerely for their service. And spare a thought for those still missing in action or resting silently far away from home.

Nancy Battick is a Dover-Foxcroft native who has researched genealogy for over 30 years. She is past president of the Maine Genealogical Society, author of several genealogical articles and co-transcribed the Vital Records of Dover-Foxcroft. Nancy holds an MA in History from UMaine and lives in Dover-Foxcroft with her husband, Jack, another avid genealogist. You can contact Nancy at nbattick@roadrunner.com.