I continue to be fascinated by the evidence of the 20th century wars that generated so much trauma in Europe. I would think that, following these conflicts, the citizens would want to erase the evidence of war, put it out of their minds and try and get back to a semblance of normal life.
My tour of the First World War Western Front in 2019 proved that idea completely incorrect. The scars, preserved battle sites and memorials from the First World War are easily found throughout Belgium and Northern France. During my first visit back to this area in four years, I stopped to see some of these additional sites while I was traveling last week.
Northwest of where I was staying in Oudenaarde is the Flanders Field American Cemetery. The only permanent American First World War cemetery in Belgium this site commemorates 411 American soldiers who were killed in the final months of the Great War.
This is the final resting place for 368 American soldiers and inside the chapel the names of 43 missing soldiers are listed and memorialized.
As is typical for many Belgian and French towns, Oudenaarde has a memorial to their citizen soldiers that were lost between 1914 and 1918.
The Monument van de Opgeëisten serves as a memorial to the citizens who were deported from Oudenaarde to Germany during the Great War
There is a direct American connection to Oudenaarde.
The Audenarde American Monument commemorates the service of 40,000 American troops who fought in the areas around Ourdenaarde in October and November of 1918. These soldiers were attached to units commanded by Albert I King of Belgium and the casualties from these battles are interred at Flanders Field.
There are also plenty of easily found sites and memorials from the Second World War in and around this area.
Less than 10 kilometers north of Orchies, where I parked my car for the day of riding some of the Paris-Roubaix course, is a memorial to US aviators that died October 9th 1942. While returning from a bombing mission over the railroad installations at Hellemmes, the B17 41-9018 piloted by Lt Francis Chorak was hit by flak and German fighter fire. Despite a ferocious resistance, the bomber lost its tail and three engines. Four of the nine crew members bailed out successfully while the plane disintegrated over Lannay France.
Close by are numerous blockhouses and bunkers of the Maginot Line. These things are all over the terrain in this part of France as the maps below detail.
And finally, some memorials to the 2nd Armored Division, "Hell on Wheels", who on September 2 1944 crossed a bridge on the border of France and began the process of liberating Belgium after 4 years and 4 months of occupation.
Just north of the bridge is a memorial to the first American soldier to enter into Belgium on that day, by motorcycle.
A memorial in the first significant town north of the border, Rumes Belgium, celebrates the American soldiers who began the liberation of Belgium.
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