Marine Cemetery in Belleau Wood

[USMC A5 Sniper Rifle]

There are ABMC cemetery maps with burial plots when they were consolidating these temporary burials. There were temporary cemeteries at BW of course and the consolidated cemetery before they began notifying NOK of the repatriation was located exactly where the current Aisne Marne is today. There were literally dozens of these finalized consolidated cemeteries before they established the ABMC cemeteries. I'll upload some images I took of the Belleau Wood related cemetery maps they have at NARA College Park.

 

DevilDog, How does the map I sent you compare to the maps at NARA? Do you have a good map of all the cemeteries around Belleau Wood?

 

Jim

[USMC A5 Sniper Rifle]

Supposedly this is the cemetery at Bouresches or outside Bouresches.

 

 

According to my "Tour Guide", which has an almost identical picture in it, this is the cemetery just down from the crest of Hill 181 on the left side of the road to Bouresches, about halfway between Lucy le Bocage and Bouresches. According to the guide, there was a trail from the cemetery up to Hill 181 where German bodies still littered the ground in 1919.

 

Jim

[teufelhund]

I am indebted to Monsieur Francis Pay, of Belgium, for the following list of early provisional burying grounds of American dead in the vicinity of Belleau Wood. M. Pay derived the list from a careful study of Marine Corps muster rolls. The description is in his own words:

 

1. CEMETERY #29 : on the unimproved road leading from Hill 142 toward TORCY (the remains of one Marine was found there about 10 years ago).

 

2. TRIANGLE FARM: at map coordinates (LAMBERT GRIDS) 176.6 - 259.3.

 

3. TRIANGLE FARM: at map coordinates 175.8-261.1 (probably the same as above, see comments below).

 

4. BOURESCHES: 200 yards from the Bouresches church at an azimut of 75 ° (roughly east-northeast).

 

5. LUCY-LE-BOCAGE: 1 kilometer NW of LUCY on the road leading to TORCY.

 

6. Small clump of trees SW of BOURESCHES (on top of Hill).

 

7. Northeast corner of Bois des CLEREMBAUTS ( Currently Bois de la CENSE).

 

8. Road la VOIE DU CHATEL, located in the meadow at the western edge of LE BOIS JOLLY.

 

9. MONTIGIVRAULT LE PETIT, (97th Company dead).

 

10. Hill 181 in BELLEAU WOOD.

 

11. Near BELLEAU WOOD at 261.5 174.8 (these coordinates indicate southern part of Bois de Champillon currently renamed ST MARTIN WOOD)

 

Concerning #2,3&7, it is the opinion of M. Pay that the June 1918 rosters all refer to the same cemetery, since their location (in each case, coordinates 176.6 - 259.3) is situated farther south in the Bois de Clerembauts near the CENSE Farm. It is also opinion of M. Pay that most of the above cemeteries must be considered as "combat cemeteries" only, from which the bodies were later transfered to one of the three cemeteries at Belleau, Lucy-le-Bocage, and Bouresches.

 

If anyone can add further information, please contact "Skipper", and it will be posted here.

[USMC A5 Sniper Rifle]

I am indebted to Monsieur Francis Pay, of Belgium, for the following list of early provisional burying grounds of American dead in the vicinity of Belleau Wood. M. Pay derived the list from a careful study of Marine Corps muster rolls.

 

Teufelhund,

There are several more cemeteries than you have listed. There were two cemeteries on the west side of Belleau Wood on the left side of the road from Belleau to Boureshes, and one just at the intersection of G. C. 9 and I. C. 32 (old road designations) at Torcy. Does anyone have the coordinates of Cemetery #29? The cemetery described by Makin (on the path leading out of Lucy le Bocage to Hill 142 on the edge of the 1st clearing) should be #29, but the coordinates I have for #29 place it next to the road from Lucy le Bocage to Torcy at the 1st big curve in the road on the left. I sent you an email a long time ago discussing this matter but never got a response.

 

Jim

[devildog34]

According to my "Tour Guide", which has an almost identical picture in it, this is the cemetery just down from the crest of Hill 181 on the left side of the road to Bouresches, about halfway between Lucy le Bocage and Bouresches. According to the guide, there was a trail from the cemetery up to Hill 181 where German bodies still littered the ground in 1919.

 

Jim

 

That's where I believe I obtained the photo is from that guide which is a great resource. Jim I'll give you a call here this weekend. Hope all is well.

Kevin

[teufelhund]

Good night Jim ( It is night here)

So sorry not having replied your mail, then regarding the Lucy Bocage Cemetery... Maybe I missed something

According to a very good friend of mine ,who lives in a village close to Marigny en Orxois ( not Gilles).. member Here, this cemetery was situated on the road leading from Lucy Bocage to Torcy ,leaving the village of Lucy to Torcy, when the road is gently going uplhill, on the right side.... not far from the place where Col Harry Lee was wounded on 6/6/1918,17H00

With my best regards

Teufelhund

[teufelhund]

Teufelhund,

There are several more cemeteries than you have listed. There were two cemeteries on the west side of Belleau Wood on the left side of the road from Belleau to Boureshes, and one just at the intersection of G. C. 9 and I. C. 32 (old road designations) at Torcy. Does anyone have the coordinates of Cemetery #29? The cemetery described by Makin (on the path leading out of Lucy le Bocage to Hill 142 on the edge of the 1st clearing) should be #29, but the coordinates I have for #29 place it next to the road from Lucy le Bocage to Torcy at the 1st big curve in the road on the left. I sent you an email a long time ago discussing this matter but never got a response.

 

Jim

Here you are Jim

Credit Therry Schartz US- French citizen ( Boisbelleau)

[teufelhund]

Teufelhund,

There are several more cemeteries than you have listed. There were two cemeteries on the west side of Belleau Wood on the left side of the road from Belleau to Boureshes, and one just at the intersection of G. C. 9 and I. C. 32 (old road designations) at Torcy. Does anyone have the coordinates of Cemetery #29? The cemetery described by Makin (on the path leading out of Lucy le Bocage to Hill 142 on the edge of the 1st clearing) should be #29, but the coordinates I have for #29 place it next to the road from Lucy le Bocage to Torcy at the 1st big curve in the road on the left. I sent you an email a long time ago discussing this matter but never got a response.

 

Jim

Here you are Jim

Credit Therry Schartz US- French citizen ( Boisbelleau)

[USMC A5 Sniper Rifle]

Tuefelhund, are you saying the old original cemetery was where the black square is located on the plat you posted? In 1919, the tour guide said the original cemetery was on the road from Belleau to Bouresches and had a road that led up into the woods to its right, but it was "about a mile" down the road to Bouresches, which would place it at a point past the current cemetery at the old road that led up into the woods to the road that bisects the woods running from the Aisne-Marne Cemetery to road that connects Torcy and Lucy, or about a quarter mile past the Aisne-Marne Cemetery. Incidentally, some old coordinates I have for that cemetery place it in the same location as described in the old tour guide, well past the Aisne-Marne. I really need to get over there and look for myself. Road trip!

 

Jim

[teufelhund]

Jim

Here is a nice link to a French Forum discussing the problematic of the several BW cemeteries

It is likely that the pictures of the cemetery with the crossed rifle and hemet affixed to the bayonets is the one you mention on the road from Belleau to Bouresche at 1+ mile from the crossroad (if you look close , you can identify the grave of Capt FULLER)

 

The cemetery identified by the black square is, according terry, the first regrouping one before the epatration of the bodies and the construction of the current cemetary

As far as a cemetery on the belleau Torcy road, I have no knowledge of its existance( exception made of the cemetery t the entrance of the village ( with the ruins in background)

Could you provide me with the coodinates of #29 and I will ask a friend who has the reference of all provisional cemeteries in France

http://aefcollections.forumactif.org/t1417...t-son-cimetiere

Most of the pictures are from Therry's collection and the credit is Him

Best regards

[boisbelleau]

Hello to all,

 

You'll have to bear with me a little as I sift through the over 400 pictures I have of Belleau and its surrounding areas. I'll try and organize my replies in a constructive and easy to follow manner.

 

I agree that there were between 10 and 15 temporary burial sites in and around Belleau immediately after the battle, I have not yet been able to precisely pinpoint each location. I do have in my collection, photos of at least 6 different temporary cemeteries.

 

The most recognized is the one at the entrance of the village itself... 26th Division cemetery

 

[boisbelleau]

The second one is the one Capt Fuller USMC is buried in.

 

 

Which can be seen in one of Kevins' replies with the marines looking over a grave.

 

Number 3 is not pinpointed but has three rows of graves instead of 5 as seen above

 

[boisbelleau]

Number 4 is near Bouresches:

 

[boisbelleau]

Number 5 on the road to Vaux

 

[boisbelleau]

Number 6 is in Lucy-le-Bocage

 

 

Number 7 is as seen in Kevin's reply:

 

[boisbelleau]

The final one is a mystery to me... a series of graves near boulders within the woods.

 

 

 

I am sure there are other photos out there of temporary cemeteries.

 

Next up Pre ABMC cemetery.

[boisbelleau]

 

The location is as seen in Teufel's reply which is my map. The evidence is the location of the village which can be seen in the distance. The Current cemetery's entrance is right across the street from the village.

[boisbelleau]

[boisbelleau]

This photo was taken as consolidation and repatriation was occuring. The tents and buildings you see are morgues for identification use.

 

 

 

This is what it looked like after repatriation and right before the construction of the permanent (current) cemetery

 

 

 

Notice the fewer graves...

[boisbelleau]

 

The location of the pre ABMC cemetery is right off the picture here.

 

Notice the hunting lodge in the clearing in the woods...

 

 

All for now...I hope it helps understanding the progression...

 

Therry/boisbelleau

 

Other photos are available if there is interest...

[USMC A5 Sniper Rifle]

I understand the progression of construction of the Aisne-Marne Cemetery, and have pictures of the caskets stacked awaiting burial during the process. I was trying to reconcile the coordinates and eye-witness descriptions of the location of the two cemeteries on the road from Belleau to Borursches. The "collection" cemetery you picture is probably post 1919, started in 1920-21 I believe, as I doubt they were moving bodies during the war. I do have a long article about the woman who spearheaded the purchase of Belleau Wood by the Memorial Society and the dates, and if I memory serves me correctly, all activities postdate 1919. Therefore, there were two cemeteries on that road before this cemetery was started (it was going to be a park and amusement attraction) and one of them was about halfway down the wood perimeter, on the northeast corner of that last big field, and the other just outside Bouresches.

 

Thanks for posting these pictures. Most people are probably not interested in the location of cemeteries, but I am.

 

jt

 

I am definitely interested in seeing your pictures if you are kind enough to post them.

[Christine1958Fury]

Great photos! thanks for sharing

[Christine1958Fury]

my grouping

 

This letter was included in the mailing tube of the grouping I have of a USMC Corporal KIA there that won the Silver Star in the 6th Machine Gun. I know he was reburied at Arlington

[teufelhunde.ret]

It has been great to follow this thread - Thx to those contributing!

[teufelhund]

Please... increase the sound to a maximun ... and dream

Teufelhund