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Remembering our Fathers by name
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The initiative began at Henri-Chapelle on Memorial Day, 2003 as a way of remembering
all who died in the cause of freedom in WWII, and specifically as a way for the sons and daughters
of AWON (American World War II Orphans Network) to remember their Fathers by name,
which seems especially appropriate at the place they rest.
The concept the brainchild of our Belgian friends, Rιgine and Bernard Achten of Ans
and with considerable effort by AWON volunteers, including a stateside coordinator for each cemetery,
the initiative has grown. In 2015, it remembered more than 650 men in all 16 of the American cemeteries that
hold WWII dead all over the world meticulously maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commisssion.
Starting on Memorial Day 2016, in a surprising turn, AWON will abandon the remembrances by name,
worldwide in order to simplify the efforts of an aging membership. Choosing instead to send
wreaths alone. The wreaths will be generic, and will no longer remember our Fathers by name.
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Many sons and daughters of Henri-Chapelle for whom the annual Memorial Day remembrance of their Fathers
(by name) has become a valued tradition simply seek a more inclusive solution. Not to replace the AWON
wreath, but to add one that will simply continue the intent and spirit of the original tradition.
The cost of a Wreath for Memorial Day at Henri-Chapelle is about $225, or at today's exchange rate
about 200 Euros. This will be shared by those whose fathers are remembered and who value the remembrance.
The cost of the banners that carry the ranks and names of our fallen, the shipping to our Belgian florist,
and the arrangements to get the wreath and banners to Henri-Chapelle on Memorial Day . . . is zero.
So with thanks to AWON and to the many dedicated AWONers over the years who have expended their time,
their efforts, and their financial support to establish this remembrance, we hope to simply continue.
These men who fell for all of us who literally changed the direction of our world at the cost of their lives,
more than 70 years ago can never be forgotten. We feel it's especially appropriate
to remember them by name on Memorial Day in the place they rest.
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To be forgotten is the worst
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A proud Belgian, Pierre Claeyssens was just eight when he witnessed the devastation of World War I,
and credited the Americans for saving his life, and the lives of many of his friends.
He joined the Belgian Army, and later came to America, and when he became a philanthropist,
he never forgot the Americans who liberated his village and had this profound observation:
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Through the Wood Claeyssens Foundation, the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation was born,
committed not just to veterans of all wars, but to the building (among other things) of a world-class
museum to carry on Pierre's dreams that American military history will never be lost in the fog of time.
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Remembering our Fathers by Name
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Coming full circle, and with the help and credence of the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation,
we hope to extend the original initiative, and to remember our Fathers on Memorial Day, 2016 and beyond.
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A final word. I believe, as I hope you will, that it would have been Pierre's wish to remember the men whose names
are on the two banners above, so they will not be forgotten, and possibly for the reason below as well.
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Memorial Page for the AWON with many links Click Here.
Home page for the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation Click Here.
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© 2016 Copyright www.storyofmylife.cc Santa Barbara, CA USA
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