"The Somme American War Cemetery is one of eight American World War I military cemeteries administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission. It is located on the territory of the commune of Bony in the department of Aisne. A memorial was built in the form of a chapel.
A second monumental memorial was built some 1,600 meters as the crow flies along the road from Saint-Quentin to Cambrai on the territory of the municipality of Bellicourt, directly above the Riqueval tunnel.
The Cemetery
This cemetery, although officially titled Somme American Cemetery, is located in the department of Aisne in the commune of Bony.
It is so named because, in addition to housing the graves of American soldiers who fought on the very site of the cemetery from September 24, 1918 during the Battle of the Hindenburg Line, it also houses the graves of soldiers who fought in the Sum during the great German offensive of 1918 (Battle of the Kaiser), the 1st, 27th, 30th, 33rd and 80th American Divisions and the 6th and 11th Corps of Engineers.
1,839 men and 5 women are buried in Bony, including 4 pairs of brothers. 138 graves are those of unknown soldiers and 333 names of missing soldiers are engraved in the chapel of the cemetery.
The graves are materialized by Latin crosses in white marble, for soldiers of the Christian faith or adorned with the Star of David for soldiers of the Jewish faith. The tombstones, arranged in regular squares, are separated by paths that intersect at the top of the slope in front of the flagpole. A path leads to the chapel, at the east end of the cemetery.
The Memorial
It has the shape of an Art Deco architecture chapel. The creation of the memorial and the various architectural elements was entrusted to George Howe, an architect from Philadelphia, and it was the French sculptor Marcel Loyeau who carried out the sculpted decoration.
On the facade of the chapel where rifles are carved, is engraved this dedication in art deco style letters:
"To those who died for their country." »
The exterior walls of the chapel are decorated with carvings depicting pieces of military equipment. On the lintel of the bronze entrance door, the American eagle is carved.
Inside, light enters through a cross-shaped window above the altar. On the walls are inscribed the names of 333 fallen and missing soldiers."