In January 2011 the Eighth Grade Class of Marymount International School of Paris had a field trip to the old U.S. battlefield and the adjacent cemetery. The next day, their teacher apparently asked them to write about their impressions of their visit. I found these published as comments at the Soldier's Mail website, which can be visited HERE.
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| A More Recent 8th Grade Class from Marymount (This school has great field trips!) |
On January 14, 2011 at 4:23 a.m. Alisa said:
My class and I visited the Aisne Marne American Cemetery. We learned about the different soldiers and about how the soldiers that they don’t know the names of still have a grave. We also learned about how some bodies have been found and in their chapel they put a little rosette next to the name engraved on the wall. We also went to the battlefield up the hill and saw the bomb craters and trenches. It’s an experience I will never forget…
Alisa
On January 14, 2011 at 4:24 a.m. Dr. Foxy said:
I went to the Anne Marne American Cemetery yesterday and it was CRAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZYY!!! I learned so much awesome stuff from the people there. There were over 2,800 American soldiers buried there. We stood on “No-Mans Land” and learned the untold history of the American Marines. You’ll go into the trenches, and see where we fought for France. I recommend going there!
On January 14, 2011 at 4:24 a.m. Darina said:
Aisne-Marne cemetery:
Yesterday we came to the cemetery with our school, I found it really interesting how we got to see how the people fought in world war one. I really liked going to the chapel. I thought it was really interesting how we can see a lot of names on the walls, and also the cemetery part where all the crosses were. And the story about the young soldier going to war at the age of 17, who died little after. The wood were pretty interesting as well, that we saw canons that were used 100 years ago. All the American flags were really nice.
On January 14, 2011 at 4:26 a.m. Jack said:
Yesterday we visited the American cemetery in Aisne Marne. I realy enjoyed going through the battlefield and seeing the trenches, foxholes, and bomb craters. I learned that over 2800 soldiers were buried there.
On January 14, 2011 at 4:28 am Borna Wierdack said:
Dear website, yesterday my class and I went to visit the american cemetery of Aisne-Marne.We were on no-man’s land and saw the holes caused by shells,we tried to picture the war during the war.We saw the bullets in the trees and the armory which was used back then.We entered the church were we saw the list of all the names which didn’t have bodies.We were told one story about the soldier and we had to pay a moment of silence.It was a wonderful expirience.
On January 14, 2011 at 4:32 a.m. Ralph said:
Yesterday I visited the American cemetery in Aisne Marne. I learned how hard it was to be an American soldier, especially when you lied about your age just so that you can fight for your country and be a hero. I saw the german artillery that was used to kill the American army. I saw the symbols that were used to show that the soldier’s body was found recently. I saw the bomb craters and the trenches but they weren’t very deep because of the leaves that covered them. There was a lot of mud in the battlefield and a lot of trees were damaged and still trying to recover from the damage done almost a hundred years ago.
On January 14, 2011 at 4:33 a.m. Hal391 said:
Yesterday my class and I visited Aisne-Marne american cemetery. I learned a whole lot of information that interested me. I learned that jewish soldiers had their gravestones with the Star of David on top and I also started to understand why these marines and soldiers decided to go and fight. We visited each grave in silence with the class and we realised that soldiers of all ages and all ranks died and were buried with the same tombstone. We saw the ruins of the war battlefield. We saw trenches, fox holes, and bomb craters. There was also a church that had the names of over a thousand American soldiers whose bodies have not been found. This was a great tour and I can’t wait till our new field trip.
On January 14, 2011 at 4:34 a.m. Ashley said:
Yesterday I and the rest of the eighth graders went to the American cemetery which is located right next to the Belleau woods. When I went to the small chapel, I saw over 1,000 missing soldiers’ names listed on the wall and only 4 of them were found. The story of a young boy who fought at the war and died at the age of 17 was shocking and very depressing. 17-year-old isn’t that much older than my age. At the end, we had a minute of silence commemorating the bravery of the soldiers who fought and died at the war. I’d like to go there again with my family once again to tell my family the sad incident caused by World War I.
On January 14, 2011 at 4:35 a.m. Anonymous said:
Yesterday my class and I traveled to the Aisne-Marne cemetery. Although the Great War occurred almost a century ago, the thousands upon thousands of losses of American soldiers loomed heavily upon me. I learned that over 2,000 Americans rested in this very cemetery! It was a treat to be able to visit Belleau Wood, the very place where a battle occured! We visited the chapel, saw trenches, foxholes, and bomb craters, and solemnly strided through the many rows of white crosses and Star of Davids. It was quite amazing to see trees with shrapnel in them and the dent in the chapel, and the war almost came alive for everyone, I think. Although many soldiers went missing or are unknown, we will never forget the honor that they are owed by America and Europe.
On January 14, 2011 at 4:36 a.m. Nicole said:
Yesterday I visited the Aisne Marne cemetery with my class. We walked through the cemetery, visited fox holes in the forest and visited the chapel. I learnt many new things such as that there are not only Americans buried there, including Jewish Americans, one Canadian, and other Americans with different origins such as Italian. We also were able to see actual cannons with real bullet holes. I liked the fact that the Germans called the American Marines “Devil Dogs” because of the blood red look their eyes had when wearing the gas mask. In all, I really enjoyed my visit.
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| Belleau Wood and the Aisne-Marne Cemetery |
On January 14, 2011 at 4:37 a.m. Sally said:
Yesterday the rest of the 8th grade and I (from Marymount, Paris) went to Aisne Marne American Cemetery. We had two tours, both outside and inside. Each lasted about 45 min. I learned a lot of interesting information that I wouldn’t otherwise have known. One of the many facts that I learned was that the American soldiers dug out holes in the ground (on the battlefield) called fox-holes. Sometimes the shells that exploded made fox-holes in themselves. I also learned that most of the soldiers who fought for America were actually from Europe and their families had migrated to the States. I also learned that over 1000 soldiers have not been found, but recently 4 bodies of the missing soldiers have been recovered. When we went into the chapel (that honours the missing soldiers) the walls were almost completely covered by names. The battlefield was extremely muddy, but we enjoyed it nevertheless. We saw many cannons that had been shot or exploded, as well as the shell holes in the metal of the cannons. Overall I enjoyed the visit very much!
On January 14, 2011 at 4:40 a.m. A.S said:
Yesterday I went to the cemetery with my grade. We visited the chapel and went through the forest. The superintendent and his colleague guided us around. When we visited the cemetery we learned that a lot of the soldiers’ identity were unknown so on their headstone was written “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God”. For Jewish soldiers their headstones were the shape of the Star of David instead of a cross. On the stained glass window of the chapel was a drawing of the symbols of the different districts. We even heard a story of a young man who thought the war was something exciting and when he realized it was the complete opposite, it was too late. I felt sorry when I thought about the thousands of other soldiers who went to war just like the young man and lost their lives when they thought they could back by Christmas alive to their family.
On January 14, 2011 at 4:45 a.m. MH said:
Yesterday, my class and I went to visit the Aisne Marne American Cemetery. We took a tour of the Belleau Wood where the battle occured. We saw the conditions in which the soldiers fought, the trenches they were in, the artillery they used and the tanks they shot bombs with, at the end of the visit of the Belleau Wood we visited the chapel were all the names of the soldiers are engraved. There are over 1000 soldiers who were not found, 4 of them were first unknown and then found. After that we saw the tombs of soldiers and also the different tombs for the jewish americans.
On January 14, 2011 at 4:47 a.m. Andres said:
Yesterday I went with my class to the Aisne Marne cemetery and I have to say that it was very impressive all the soldiers that were found and all the soldiers that are missing and in total it was 2,800 soldiers buried. What impressed me the most is that there was this one grave that belonged to a 17 years old kid and when I think about it he is 3 years older than me and instead of him playing video games like me or watching TV like me he went to war. I can’t imagine how much he suffered. What impressed me the most was that inside the chapel the whole walls were full of names of soldiers that haven’t been found and it was over 1,000 names.
On January 14, 2011 at 4:48 a.m. CH said:
We went to the Aisne Marne cemetery yesterday, 8th grade had great fun in the woods at the place with the cannons, particularly the one that had been shot. We visited the chapel and the cemetery, we sanded the tombs and had a minute of silence for one of the soldiers that died at the age of 17.
On January 14, 2011 at 7:35 a.m. B.F.F said:
With my school and I we went to the to the Aisne Marne American Cemetery. Other there I visited the forest, and the cemetery it was really interesting, because I learned that out of 100 percent 40 of the percent of the bodys were buried in the place they died. I also like visiting the chapel, and seeing the cannon. It was really educational, and interesting.
On January 14, 2011 at 7:40 a.m. K.N.B said:
At Aisne-Marne with my class, I learned that about 40% out of the families who had a family member die while fighting in WW1 wanted their children buried in Europe instead of in the States. I enjoyed walking through the battlefield of Belleau Woods and seeing where the Germans and the Americans fought.
On January 14, 2011 at 7:41 a.m. Jungbin said:
By reading this text and journals, I learned that it was very difficult for the Allies to get the land back from the Germans. Also there were lots of deaths compared to the Germans. Yesterday I went to the American Cemetery in Aisne-Marne, and saw all these crosses. It is sad that so many people had to die to get this little land.
On January 14, 2011 at 7:44 a.m. Nick said:
We went to the American WW1 cemetery in Aisne-Marne. We had a great time and learned so much about the war. I never knew it took that long for the allies to take back the area.What I found touching about the place was that we got to fold the flag and had a moment of silence for respect.
On January 14, 2011 at 7:49 a.m. Charles said:
On January 14th, my class went to Aisne-Marne to visit the American Cemetery.The chapel was very beautiful.I really like the statues of the outside wall of the chapel. Those statues show the technology for the war.There were very young soldiers.The average age for the soldiers was seventeen to twenty.In the American Cemetery there were 2,800 soldiers who died and 1,056 unknown soldiers.
On January 14, 2011 at 7:50 a.m. Margherita said:
Yesterday, January 13 2011, My class and I went to visit the Aisne-Marne American cemetery. I need to say that it was a trip that helped me picture the moment. Something that really touched me was how many tombstones there were. I always knew that there were a lot of people who died, but actually seeing it surprised me the most. Also seeing the canons all full of holes was frightening Especially when Mr.David told us that there were the soldiers behind that, it was like WOW! I really enjoyed yesterday’s field trip and I thought it was a very beautiful place.
On January 14, 2011 at 7:55 a.m. Natasha said:
On January 13th 2011,I visited the Aisne-Marne Cemetery. When I went, there were many things that I found interesting and even things that I never knew! One thing that I learnt was that some soldiers were never found and were determined to be Missing. When this occurred, their name was engraved on the Missing wall. On the other hand, some bodies were found but they were so fragile that it was impossible to identify them. On their gravestone, they were identified as Known Only to God. A very interesting person that I learnt about was a young boy. This boy and his friends really wanted to go to war, but did not pass the age limit. Therefore, they lied about their age to take part. In the end, this young boy died at 17 and said that he regretted his decision so much. I also learnt several facts during my visit. It took Germany 3 days to cover 50 kilometers, whereas it took the allies 20 days to get it back. My visit yesterday was just extraordinary and truly beautiful. It is something that was not only a physical beauty but it was the emotion and honor that the cemetery had which was just amazing.
On January 14, 2011 at 7:57 a.m. EB said:
On January 14th, the eighth grade class of Marymount Paris was fortunate enough to visit the Aisne Marne American Cemetery. When we arrived we saw a tall chapel centered in between two sections of the cemetery. The chapel was inscribed with 1,060 names of all of the soldiers that were missing and never found during World War 1. Out of those 1,060 names, only four were found. A small star was placed beside their name on the wall for the recognition of receiving their identities again. We also received a tour of Belleau Woods which is behind the cemetery. in these muddy woods, the largest number of soldiers died. There are many craters left in the ground from the various bombs and there are cannons that stand in the woods as well. It was a great and educational experience to see Aisne Marne American Cemetery.
On January 14, 2011 at 8:00 a.m. Eleonora said:
Aisne-Marne is an American cemetery where the soldiers of World War one were buried. There are a total of 2289 soldiers, although they are only 40 percent of all the soldiers. The other 60 percent were sent back to the United States.
World War 1 was the first time important technological advances were used. It was the first time where gas was used, the first time when tanks were used, and the first time when there was an air force.
Aisne-Marne is important for American marines, because the number of marines who died in Belleau Wood was more than in any other war altogether. Aisne-Marne is an amazing place where you can learn about World War 1 in a more detailed way.
On January 14, 2011 at 8:01 a.m. Cusmar Golover said:
By seeing this place and especially ‘The Belleau Wood’, I understood the importance of the place. I could imagine the events that happened in this wood, which is a sacred place for the marines. The guide even referred to the wood as a a pilgrimage place for the marines. Seeing the number of people that died for America I can’t even imagine the courage those men had.
On January 14, 2011 at 8:01 a.m. Julien said:
There were horrible effects when there was a machine gun emplacement facing an open field, soldiers would charge towards the enemy at the end of the field as fast as they could wielding a bayonet. Alot of men died quickly in a small radius. Around 2000 men were buried in Aisne Marne Cemetery, and 1000 were missing.
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