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I went this weekend visited

Somme American cemetery and memorial -

located to the west of Bony, at the intersection of roads leading to Ronssoy and Hargicourt,

The Somme Cemetery is named after the general area in which the American 1st, 27th,30th,33rd and 80th divisions, the 6th and the 11th Engineers fought during the period between March 1917 and October 1918.

This cemetery contains the bodies of 1,844 American soldiers including 138 unknown. rested in this cemetery the men who fought essentially in the Somme (Cantigny (the first commitment american of war), Le Hamel, ..)

But also in Cambrai and the Hindenburg Line (Bony, souterain of Riqueval, Premont, ..) On the walls inside of the chapel are inscribed the names of 333 American soldiers missing.

you can also see pictures I have taken of the Monument Bellicourt

This American Memorial , constructed by the United Sates Government commemorates all American Units which served with the British Armies in France during World War I.

Sculptures and dedicatery inscriptions , the names and places which were prominent in American fighting are found on the monument as well as the insignia of those whose combat operations with the British Forces are commemorated here. An engraved map on the of the monument shows American operations in the vicinity and an orientation table on the terrace indicates directions and distances to these places.

The monument is built on the Canal St Quentin, which was built by Napoleon between 1802 and 1810.

you will also see the graves of: William Bradford Turner

Born: 1892 at Dorchester, MA

Entered Service in the US Army from Garden City, NY

Earned The Medal of Honor During World War I For heroism September 27, 1918 at Ronssoy, France

Died: September 27, 1918 at the age of 26

http://www.homeofheroes.com/gravesites/abm...er_william.html

The : Thomas E O' Shea

Born: April 18, 1895 at New York, NY

Entered Service in the US Army from Summit, NJ

Earned The Medal of Honor During World War I For heroism September 29, 1918 at Le Catelet, France

Died: September 29, 1918 at the age of 23

http://www.homeofheroes.com/gravesites/abm...er_william.html

The Helen Fairchild Nurse

died Jan. 18, 1918,

http://www.vlib.us/medical/MaMh/MyAunt.htm

The brothers James and harmon Vedder

whose parents have built a school in the village of bony which is now a Town Hall . In memory of their son.

I hope you enjoy the pictures , you can see them here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/waminvero/Somm...teryAndMemorial

VEE

Thanks Vee,

This is very intresting. I did not know about the Somme cemetery till now.

Thanks for sharing

Ron

Received this wonderful letter this week. Am posting it for all to read. :wub:

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Hello, I was surprised to see my aunt, Nurse Helen Fairchild's name come up on your website in relation to one of your members visiting Somme American Military Cemetery, and commenting about Nurse Fairchild. She was my aunt.

She was a WWI nurse who spent time at a ccs at Third Battle of Ypres-Passchendaele. She died overseas and was reburied in Somme American Military Cemetery. There are four other nurses buried there, I don't have their history.

At a future date, the American Battle Monuments Commission is offering a documentary about all the American Cemeteries overseas. They asked me for a photo and information about Nurse Fairchild, and when they show Somme Cem, they will feature Nurse Fairchild. She was a US Army Reserve nurse who had graduated from Pennsylvania Hospital in 1913. We entered the war April 6, 1917, and she was told to report to the docks in Philadelphia in May. By June her small group of nurses and doctors took over a British Base Hospital north of Omaha Beach (and in June, too)! By July, the British Army Medical Corps asked for surgical teams to come to the Front near Ypres for the Third Battle of Passchendaele which was to start the end of that month.

I spent the last 12 years researching this battle and her place in it. I wrote a big book with 300 photos, which also included the names of all the nurses and doctors who died in WWI, where they were from, where they died, and what they died of. My book also includes 35 or so official letters and documentation between my grandparents and our US government to get her buried and reburied. I have also included all her letters she wrote, and I was also able to locate her autopsy at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Philadelphia. There is so much I could share, and I always enjoy reading anything and everything I can find about WWI.

This is why I would like to be a member. My husband was a 20 year Marine, my son was a Marine jet pilot, my other son was in the reserves, and my brother was in the Navy in WWII. I have the greatest admiration for service people. PS Many of my ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War.

Nelle Fairchild Rote, age 78. Helen was my dad's sister.

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Nelle, we look forward to your first post. What a fantastic letter. So glad you found us. Can't wait to hear more!

Great pictures, as usual, V. Once again, thanks for sharing.

As for the letter from Mrs. Rote, it's so amazing the connections the internet can create. It's too bad it did exist when there were more of that generation around to be a part.

:armata_PDT_37: Great Pictures V (comme d'habitude :clappin: ) , but what a story about the nurse I'm astonished how close the internet bring the peoples together.

I read in the letter that they will make a docu about the American Cemeteries overseas I'm very interested to get a copy of that docu, can you keep me posted when it is on the shelf so that I can buy me a copy that were very kind.

Martin

Great pictures Verow! My grandfather, Fred M. Nelson was a WWI Combat veteran "doughboy" who served in France during The Great War. For any who might wonder why I did not follow in the footsteps of my Father and Grandfather, I have a birth defect in my neck which rendered me physically unfit for military service, but in all honesty that was not a great disappointment to me at the time I was 19 ,but I have always been immensely proud of the service of my Father, Grandfather, and Uncles who served in the two World Wars. :26_6_7: