The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) oversees American cemeteries and war monuments, primarily on foreign soil. At the direction of eleven commissioners appointed by the president, the commission administers and maintains 24 overseas military cemeteries where almost 125,000 American servicemen, largely from World War I and the European Theater of World War II, are buried. The commission also maintains 25 monuments, memorials, and markers, and it has commemorated the names of more than 90,000 dead in Tablets of the Missing. The commission maintains a database of all soldiers buried in its cemeteries, which correspond to theaters of war in Mexico, the Philippines, Europe, North Africa, and Korea.
The ABMC’s budget request for FY 2013 is $58.4 million. In June 2009 the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported a series of financial irregularities—in violation of the Antideficiency Act—that it uncovered during a 2008 audit of the ABMC. The President appointed an oversight commission, whose eight members resolved the violation in July 2010.
In the wake of World War I, in which thousands of American soldiers perished on foreign soil, Congress and President Harding enacted and signed legislation forming the American Battle Monuments Commission. The ABMC was originally charged with honoring American armed forces by controlling the design and construction of overseas markers and monuments. President Harding appointed General of the Armies John J. Pershing to the commission upon its inception, and his fellow commissioners elected him chairman, a role in which he served until his death in 1948. Seven chairmen, all former generals, have served since then.
The ABMC’s World War I commemorative program entailed the construction of nonsectarian chapels on each of eight World War I cemeteries, landscaping of those cemeteries, erecting a dozen monuments elsewhere throughout Europe, and constructing the WWI Allied Expeditionary Forces Memorial in Washington D.C. Amid this activity in 1934 an executive order gave the ABMC full responsibility over the administration of the eight World War I cemeteries and charged it with overseeing all future overseas military cemeteries.
During the course of World War II, American soldiers were interred in a haphazard patchwork of burial grounds, and in 1947 the ABMC designated 14 sites for the establishment of permanent cemeteries. The World War II commemorative program entailed the construction of 14 military cemeteries, in addition to several monuments in the U.S. and on foreign soil. Most remains were transferred to the permanent cemeteries and the temporary sites were disestablished. However, families had the option of repatriating remains or letting them rest in their original burial places, in which case next of kin assumed responsibility for care of the grave.
In addition to its primary responsibilities, the commission also oversees the design of both public and “private” overseas memorials—the latter defined as “a permanent war monument or marker commemorating the sacrifices of the American armed forces erected by any American person or entity.” With the exception of the East Coast Memorial (New York City), the West Coast Memorial (San Francisco), and the Honolulu Memorial, the commission is generally not responsible for memorials on U.S. soil or for memorials erected by any other government agency. It is not affiliated with monuments or cemeteries on U.S. soil, including Arlington Cemetery, the Vietnam Memorial, or markers at battlefields such as Gettysburg. ABMC oversaw the planning and building of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall, but handed over operation of the memorial to the National Park Service upon completion (see “Controversy” below). Memorials for American Expeditionary Forces and the Korean War, both in Washington D.C., were handled similarly. (Most domestic cemeteries are administered either by the Department of Veterans Affairs or the National Park Service.)
The ABMC’s annual budget (click for the latest annual report [pdf]) funds the regular maintenance of the cemeteries and memorials under its care, including landscaping, repair and replacement of headstones, and occasional capital improvements, such as the Normandy Visitors Center. The majority of the commission’s budget is dedicated to wages for grounds crews. The commission retains architects as advisers and approves the design of facilities under its charge as well as private markers and memorials. It does not, however, contribute financial resources to private memorials.
The ABMC incurs few capital costs because in most cases land for the cemeteries has been granted in perpetuity by the host countries free of charge or taxation with the stipulation that, except in the case of the Manila American Cemetery, they house only the remains of soldiers who died overseas during wartime. All overseas cemeteries are closed to new burials, with the rare exception of remains of Americans that are discovered and were previously unaccounted for.
The commission is based in Washington D.C., and maintains regional offices in Paris and Rome. Its 24 cemeteries are located in eight countries: France (11), Belgium (3), England (2), Italy (2), Luxembourg, Netherlands, Tunisia, Mexico, Panama, and the Philippines.
Current ABMC activities include the addition of an interpretive exhibit at Pointe du Hoc, Normandy, France—the precarious cliff-side site that was the target of a U.S. Rangers attack on D-Day, World War II, and current location of an ABMC memorial monument.
Programs
AMBC maintains listings of all war dead buried in AMBC cemeteries as well as those of all servicemen killed in the Korean War and civilians killed during the construction of the Panama Canal. Databases also include listings of WWI and WWII soldiers listed missing in action who are memorialized on Tablets of the Missing and Vietnam MIAs who are listed at the Honolulu Memorial.
From the Web Site of the American Battle Monuments Commission
“Battle of Pointe du Hoc” Interactive
“Fields of Honor” - Video
“Hallowed Grounds” Documentary
The AMBC spent $255,794 on contractor services between 2002 and 2012, according to USAspending.gov. The top five types of services included ADP supplies ($107,188), education and training ($58,000), I.T. and telecommunications ($43,133), building construction ($20,504), and administrative support ($9,905).
The following are the top five recipients of AMBC contractor spending during that period, including the amount paid to each contractor and its percentage of overall contractor spending:
1. Dell Inc. $96,621 (38%)
2. Informa Group PLC $58,000 (23%)
3. Eagle Collaborative Computing Services Inc. $43,133 (17%)
4. Government Sales Associates, Inc. $20,000 (8%)
5. Robert Half International Inc. $9,905 (4%)
Although the American Battle Monuments Commission deals mainly with overseas facilities, it served as the lead agency in the establishment of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington D.C.
In conjunction with a separate 12-member Memorial Advisory Board convened by President Bill Clinton, the commission was directed to choose a design, and raise $100 million in donations for its construction (eventually $197 million was raised, $16 million of it from federal funds). The commission selected a design by architect Friedrich St. Florian and chose a site on the National Mall. The site was dedicated in 1995. Ground was broken in 2000, and the memorial was completed in 2004.
Despite its unimpeachable mission, the World War II Memorial roused significant controversy and scorn from citizens and design experts for both its site and architecture. While proponents laud it for its prominence and heroic beaux arts design, opponents, including Save Our Mall, claimed that it cluttered the Mall and obscured the iconic view and formerly unobstructed view from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. They also claimed that it took up space that had often been used for demonstrations and other public gatherings.
Architectural critics have derided its design, specifically its heavy use of neoclassical elements such as marble pillars and arches. They contend that the iconography of classicism had long been corrupted and co-opted by Fascists, among others, and that its un-ironic use was inappropriately naïve and melodramatic. Supporters argue that the memorial maintains an appropriate degree of grandeur and that modern memorials such as the stark Vietnam Memorial are morbid, vacant, and unsettlingly abstract. Furthermore, the design competition roused suspicion for an unusually swift selection process. Backers of the memorial responded that time was of the essence in order to honor the nation’s dwindling ranks of living WWII veterans.
Although the AMBC was the lead agency in the memorial’s inception and construction, it no longer has any formal connection to it. The World War II Memorial is currently administered by the National Parks Service’s National Mall and Memorial Parks unit.
The World War II Memorial Defaces a National Treasure (National Coalition to Save Our Mall)
A memorial to forget (by Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times)
Design for World War II Memorial Awaits Review, With Detractors Vocal (by Irvin Molotsky, New York Times)
Max Cleland
President Barack Obama’s choice to be in charge of the American Battle Monuments Commission is a grievously wounded Vietnam veteran, twice decorated for bravery. Former U.S. Senator Max Cleland, who lost his Senate seat in an ugly and controversial re-election campaign in 2002, is the first non-General and first Vietnam combat veteran to chair the commission. The Commission, which was established after World War I, administers, operates and maintains on foreign soil 24 permanent American burial grounds, and 25 separate memorials, monuments and markers, including three memorials in the United States.
Born on August 24, 1942, in Atlanta, GA, Joseph Maxwell Cleland earned his BA in History from Stetson University in 1964 and his MA in History from Emory University in 1965. An ROTC cadet at Stetson, Cleland began active duty in the Army in 1965 as a Second Lieutenant, eventually rising to the rank of Captain. In 1967, he volunteered for duty in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for valorous action in combat, including during the Battle of Khe Sanh on April 4, 1968. On April 8, 1968, Cleland, a Battalion Signal Officer, was sent to set up a radio relay antenna on a hilltop. As he left the helicopter that had transported him and two other soldiers, he reached for a fallen grenade. It exploded and Cleland lost both his legs and half of his right arm. After spending 18 months at Army hospitals, Cleland was discharged and returned to Georgia.
In 1969, Cleland testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs to describe the difficulties veterans were experiencing returning home from Vietnam. The following year, Cleland began his lengthy career in public service by winning election to the Georgia State Senate. As the youngest member of the Georgia Senate at age 28, he wrote the state law making public facilities in the state accessible to the elderly and the handicapped. After four years in the State Senate, Cleland relocated to Washington D.C., to take a job with the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, where he worked from 1975 to 1977. While Cleland was in the State Senate, he formed a close political alliance and personal friendship with Georgia’s governor, Jimmy Carter. In 1977, when Carter took over as President of the United States, he appointed Cleland Administrator of the Veterans Administration, which was not a Cabinet-level department at that time. Cleland served in that position until 1981, when Republican Ronald Reagan defeated Carter in his bid for re-election.
In 1982, Georgia voters elected Cleland Secretary of State, the youngest in the state’s history. In that position, Cleland fought for tougher campaign finance laws and cracked down on securities and telemarketing fraud. In 1995, he implemented the National Voter Registration Act (“motor voter”) in Georgia, which added almost one million new voters to the rolls. In 1995, he resigned his position as Secretary of State to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Sam Nunn. Despite being out-spent three to one, Cleland won the race, eking out a narrow 30,000-vote victory. He was sworn in to the United States Senate in 1997. While in the Senate, Cleland became known as a moderate Democrat, voting for President George W. Bush’s tax cuts in 2001 and the Iraq authorization of the use of force resolution in 2002, yet generally supportive of abortion rights and environmental issues.
In 2002, Cleland ran for re-election against Republican Saxby Chambliss, who had avoided military service thanks to a football-related knee injury. Nonetheless, Chambliss aired a TV attack ad that challenged Cleland’s commitment to defending the United States against its enemies by accusing him of voting against the formation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Cleland had voted to give DHS employees civil service protection, which Bush opposed. The ad failed to point out that Cleland supported the creation of a Department of Homeland Security before Bush did, and that Cleland’s “no” votes were on procedural questions. The Republican attack ads made it look as though Cleland was voting against Homeland Security itself, and one TV ad morphed Cleland’s face into Saddam Hussein’s while suggesting that Cleland was indifferent to the safety of the American people. The ad was so controversial that Republican Senators Chuck Hagel and John McCain both protested, leading the Chambliss campaign to stop airing it. The race was consider a toss-up, but on Election Day, Chambliss won handily, 53%-47%. Nevertheless, Cleland’s loss raised him to martyr status within Democratic Party circles, where he has remained popular ever since.
The year following his election loss, Cleland became increasingly concerned about the course of the War in Iraq, and wrote an influential and deeply critical article about the Bush administration’s war policies, which compared Iraq to Vietnam and concluded by taunting Bush, who did not serve in the military in Vietnam, with the words, “Welcome to Vietnam, Mr. President. Sorry you didn’t go when you had the chance.” Cleland was appointed to the 9/11 Commission, but resigned because he believed its ability to do a thorough job was being hampered by what he called the Bush administration’s “Nixonian” efforts to conceal important evidence about the government’s failures in the weeks before the attacks. In 2004, Cleland was active in Democratic Senator John Kerry’s failed Presidential campaign. Also in his post-Senate years, Cleland became a distinguished adjunct professor at American University’s Washington Semester Program, where he also served as a fellow at the Center for Congressional & Presidential Studies. Between 2003 and 2007, Cleland served on the Board of the Export-Import Bank. Cleland has written three books: Strong at the Broken Places (2000), Going for the Max!: 12 Principles for Living Life to the Fullest (2000), and Heart of a Patriot: How I Found the Courage to Survive Vietnam, Walter Reed and Karl Rove (2009).
Biography at the New Georgia Encyclopedia
Veterans History Project Oral History Interviews (Library of Congress)
“The President Ought to be Ashamed”(interview with Eric Boehlert, Salon)
Welcome to Vietnam, Mr. President (by Max Cleland, Salon)
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