Dirigo Men of Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery

"e;It isn't his body I want. It's his soul."e; ~ Delia Gardiner, mother of TEC5 Clovis, KIA January 20, 1945. They rest in a distant land they fought to liberate 80 years ago; their lives ended by war and their voices quieted by time. For 54 Maine WWII service members interred or commemorated at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Homburg, Belgium, their stories are brought to life once again in The Dirigo Men of Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery: Stories of Maine's WWII Service Members. From Maine s rocky coast along the Atlantic Ocean to its highest peak of Mount Katahdin and from towns in between, these men answered their country s call. They left everything familiar to fight in a faraway land. They hugged their parents, siblings, spouses, and children goodbye. They missed their families. They dreamt of reunions. They wept. They suffered. They mourned. They sacrificed. They freed a continent. They liberated generations. We are responsible for honoring their lives and appreciating their ultimate gift to us. The words President Ronald Reagan expressed on the 40th anniversary of D-Day ring true for the Maine service members and their comrades at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.