The Final Day

The field school has been an excellent and unique experience. Driving through the French and Belgium countryside, it was interesting to see how different the landscape changes in such a short distance. In some areas you could still see where the damage of the war was too much to completely restore. What struck me most about these areas was the cemetaries that seemed to be everywhere. It really puts into perspective the great loss of life when you drive down a road and there are literally dozens of cemeteries and memorials, some right up against the road others far off into the farmer's fields. By going to such a wide variety of cemetaries, it was interesting to see the variations from the German, French, Commonwealth and American cemeteries. I thought that the American graves were very facinating as they were beautifully constructed and landscaped. It is shocking when seeing an American cemetery and realising that there were actually so many more who died in such a short period of time since 60% were brought back to the United States to be buried, yet the rows of headstones goes on for such a long ways.

Meuse- Argonne American Cemetery

Christina