They have never forgotten

DRAGUIGNAN, France — Beautiful in its serenity and peacefulness, the Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial here is well visited — especially by the people living in this idyllic corner of southern France.

The olive trees dotting the cemetery and the profusion of cypresses and oleanders surrounding the 12.5-acre site clearly mark it as Mediterranean.  At the core, 861 of our military casualties, most of whom lost their lives in the liberation of southern France in 1944, have found their final resting place.

“The cemetery covers the largest wooded area of the city and sees many visitors.  People like its tranquility; some visitors come to just sit quietly and meditate,” said Scott Desjardin, the director of the American Battle Monuments Commission cemetery. 

The cemetery was established on Aug. 19, 1944, after the Seventh Army’s surprise landing in southern France. Its site was selected because it is located along the route Seventh Army took during its drive up the Rhone Valley. 

Herein lies the other, more profound reason, the cemetery sees so many visitors.  
“The French have never forgotten the sacrifices of the fallen here and they do a very good job of keeping the memories alive,” Desjardin said.

He recounts that he frequently encounters mothers taking their children to explain what happened during the liberation of France and the toll it took. Additionally, the cemetery is the first stop during the city’s annual newcomers’ tour and a required visit for the French soldiers and their families stationed in the area.

“The mayor likes to say, ‘this cemetery belongs to the city of Draguignan.’ And, he means that in a good way. The people here feel a responsibility for and a deep connection to it,” Desjardin said.

In addition to the numerous individual and group visits throughout the year, thousands of visitors come in honor of American Memorial Day. 

Another group of visitors comes through the generosity of a local association under the leadership of Maurice Dreclerc. Over the past 41 years, they have enabled the families of 133 fallen to visit the Rhone cemetery.

Dreclerc explains that they attempt to select families who do not necessarily have the financial means to visit the cemetery and who may never have the opportunity to do so without their assistance.

“It is very important that they see we take care of their loved ones,” he said.
Desjardin amended that the “porch-to-porch” visits are seven-day, all expense-paid trips from the U.S. to France with accommodations, driver, escort and all.

The memorial is inscribed with, “We who lie here died that future generations might live in peace.” 

The citizens of Draguignan have never forgotten.