The US Embassy in Luxembourg, along with the National Military Museum in Diekirch, the American Military Cemetery and Memorial in Hamm and Qaudriga (Historic Military Vehicle Collectors Luxembourg, organised an all-day excursion for sixty-five secondary school students from twelve different school in the Grand-Duchy; they visited World War II memorials and battlefield sites, in order to give them a better understanding of the local history behind that period in history.
After an introductory visit to the National Military Museum in Diekirch, the students were invited to ride in WWII American Military Vehicles, for a ‘military lunch’ of MREs – Meals Ready-to-Eat – which are self-contained, individual field rations, used by the US military for members of service in combat or other field conditions.
Following lunch, the students continued on with a thirty-minute Memorial trail to some American and German military positions just outside Diekirch, where they discovered trenches, foxholes, tree graffiti and pill boxes.
In the late afternoon, to conclude the day-long field trip, they visited the American Military Cemetery and Memorial in Hamm, where a guided tour, as well as accounts of some individual stories of soldiers that were buried there were given and shared, respectively.
American soldiers fought to liberate Luxembourg from Nazi occupation towards the end of the Second World War in 1944 and 1945, thus beginning the longstanding cordial relations between the two nations.
On 8 May, they commemorated Victory Day in Europe, and on 25 May, Memorial Day will be celebrated in the US to remember all the men and women who died serving the US Armed Forces.
Photos by US Embassy in Luxembourg
