Story and photos by
Senior Airman Devin Boyer
86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Cortlee Austin, Kaiserslautern Military Community member, cleans a gravestone March 10 at the American Kindergraves in Kaiserslautern. Between March and November, U.S. service members from the KMC area volunteer on a bi-weekly basis to maintain the Kindergraves by cleaning, mowing, and placing flowers on graves.
Kaiserslautern Military Community members worked together to clean the American Kindergraves, March 10, as part of a bi-weekly volunteer program designed to take care of the foundation year round.
From 1952 to 1971, 451 American infants lost their lives at birth or shortly after birth at local hospitals. Families buried the remains of those children in a cemetery near U.S. Army Daenner Kaserne.
“Back in the ‘70s, nobody was looking after the graves,” said Chief Master Sgt. Philip Leonard, Ramstein Area Chief’s Group member. “[The graves] were all over the cemetery and there wasn’t a paid lease.”
In Germany, cemeteries run on rental agreements. If families cannot keep up the lease, the city will dig up the remains and the families will lose the plot.
The Ramstein Area Chief’s Group and the German-American and International Women’s Club came to an agreement with cemetery management and took over the responsibilities for the lease.
“The mayor said, ‘We will give you this plot and we will consolidate all of the Americans in one site,’” said Leonard.
Since the agreement, the children’s remains stay memorialized in the Kindergraves.
“As far as funding, it’s all donations,” said Senior Master Sgt. Kevin Letz, RACG member.
Before kicking off the clean-up, Moms Offering Moms Support Club of Kaiserlsautern, donated $400 to the Ramstein Area Chief’s Group and the German-American Women’s Organization in support of the Kindergraves.
The money will go to cleaning supplies, fuel for lawnmowers, and flowers for the graves.
“It’s a great opportunity to serve not only the Americans that have been a part of Germany over the years, but also a way to serve Germany as well,” said Letz.
Kaiserslautern Military Community members carry gardening tools to the American Kindergraves March 10 in Kaiserslautern. Airmen from the 86th Vehicle Readiness Squadron kicked off the bi-weekly cleaning of the Kindergraves for the season.
Moms Offering Moms Support Club of Kaiserlsautern donates $400 to the Ramstein Area Chief’s Group and German-American Women’s Organization at the American Kindergraves March 10 in Kaiserslautern. The money supports the organizations’ ability to maintain the Kindergraves lease and ensure it is clean.
Chief Master Sgt. Philip Leonard, Ramstein Area Chief’s Group member, transfers leaves into a wheel barrow while cleaning up the American Kindergraves March 10 in Kaiserslautern. The Ramstein Area Chief’s Group has taken care of the Kindergraves with the German-American Women’s Organization since the 1980s.
A Kaiserslautern Military Community member cleans a gravestone at the American Kindergraves March 10 in Kaiserslautern. From 1952 to 1971, 451 American infants lost their lives at birth or shortly after birth at local hospitals. Families buried the remains of those children in a cemetery near the U.S. Army Daenner Kaserne and named the memorial Kindergraves.
Kaiserslautern Military Community members work together to clean the American Kindergraves March 10 in Kaiserslautern. After an agreement with cemetery management, the Ramstein Area Chief’s Group and the German-American Women’s Organization took over the responsibilities for the lease.
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