Since 2012 I learned about the grave adoption program at the Netherlands American Cemetery. I found this to be a very noble and worthy thing to do so I immediately signed up to adopt the grave of a hero of WW2. Unfortunately all graves had been adopted and I ended up on a waiting list.

I also learned that there was an adoption program at the Henri-Chapelle American cemetery in Belgium and registered to adopt a grave there too. By June 2012 I officialy adopted my first grave, that of T/4 Clemit Lipe. By now I have officially (and a few unofficialy) adopted the graves/names on the tablets of the missing of 21 soldiers from different countries.

Adopting a grave doesn't mean you have to clean the grave and mow the grass around it. This is taken care of by the American Battlefields Commission at the US cemeteries and by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for the British and Commonwealth graves. You are expected to lay flowers at the grave at least once a year. Most people, like me, take it a step further and try to research the entire life of the soldier.

Through his research I got in touch with many foreign friends, some related to one of my adoption grave soldiers, and some not related, but very interested in what we are doing here, commemorating their fellow countrymen and women.

This page is to honor these men of both World Wars, who lost their young lives while fighting, sometimes in a far away country. They were all a father, a son, a brother... loved by someone.

Please enjoy the stories of these men. I have tried to research them as good as possible, or am still trying to do so. Luckily I have had great help from relatives for many of them. In case you have more information or can help me out, don't hesitate to contact me.