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Arnhem44 -> RE: OT: Reason not to go to War (2/27/2016 3:12:35 AM)
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I had the privilege to visit American, CWGC and German cemeteries a couple of years back and it's interesting to see the subtle differences in the way the war dead are treated by their respective countries
Off the top of my head,
CWGC headstones have the option for the deceased loved ones to put down a line or two at the base of the headstone for that personal touch.
American cemeteries tend to be have more religious overtones, with crosses in place of headstones for the most part.
For me, the German ones were the most threadbare and saddest of the lot, just the name, rank and date of death. And each cross bears up to 4 names, 2 on either side with burials facing each other rather than in the same direction as in the CWGC and US cemeteries.
Another thing I noticed was ages, in the ETO the Allied cemeteries tended towards the younger end of the spectrum with the odd lifer here and there, it was in the Germans ones you could see a lot names in their 30s,40s, even 50s. A result of Volkssturm and a country that was fighting for it's life in the later stages of the war?
My respects to Sir Fabian Ware, he forever changed the way war dead are commemorated.
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