Memorial Day (Flanders Fields American cemetery)

Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial Waregem - ©American Battle Monuments Commission

Since the First World War the government of the United States installed Memorial Day as a day to honor all soldiers killed in war. The day of these ceremonies was 30 May and in 1919 the first Memorial Day ceremonies were held on different cemeteries and isolated graves on the Western Front, in France and Belgium. On Sunday 30 May 1920 the first official Memorial Day ceremony was held at Flanders Field American Cemetery in Waregem. Almost a century later this annual ceremony has stayed loyal to its traditions. Memorial Day is held each year at Flanders Field American Cemetery in Waregem on the Sunday before or on 30 May.