Just East of Luxembourg city is the American (ABMC) Cemetery in Hamm. This is the final resting place of General George S. Patton along with 5,072 American war dead. Many from the Battle of the Bulge (Bastogne) and the drive across the Rhine. I arrived during a rain storm that wouldn’t let up, but thinking of all these men made the rain and wetness seem trivial. The urge to walk among the crosses and stars made me cover almost the entire grounds, ending with the grave of General Patton, which is at the crest of the terrain. Surrounded by a privacy chain fence, one can only envision him lecturing and praising his troops.
Speaking with the very pleasant ABMC staff at the reception room , I found directions to the German Cemetery of Sandweiler, about 1.5 Kilometers from the U.S. Cemetery. Arriving there , again, in the rain-There was only a German Family of 4 there. Approaching me, the very elderly patriarch of the family asked me in German if I worked there. Replying no, he was very sad as he was looking for the grave of his elderly brother who was inducted into the German Army at the age of 18 in 1943.