Grateful Dutch people have adopted American World War II heroes in the 'Faces of Margraten' project.

Younger generations in Europe do not forget the immense sacrifices made by U.S. troops in foreign wars.

Ask the people of the Netherlands. Look at the Faces of Margraten.

During World War II, my family members and forebears endured great hardships, and they were deeply grateful for their liberation, as stated by Sebastiaan Vonk, a 31-year-old Dutch chair of Fields of Honor, in an interview with Planet Chronicle Digital on Friday.

"These men and women who came to fight in a war that wasn't necessarily theirs to fight are highly appreciated by the next generations."

Faces of Margraten was established by Vonk to unite the grateful Dutch people with the American soldiers who sacrificed their lives to liberate the Netherlands and Europe from Nazi Germany during World War II.

The Netherlands American Cemetery honors 10,000 American GIs through an international effort.

Dutch families have already adopted all 10,000 soldiers, and there is even a waiting list of people looking to adopt should another adoptive person or family pass along the opportunity, said Vonk.

Photos wanted of American war heroes

Vonk is currently spearheading an initiative to match each name in the cemetery with the corresponding face of a U.S. war hero, while simultaneously expanding the project to include five other American battlefield cemeteries in Europe.

In Europe, there is a search for adoptive families for approximately 42,000 American GIs, along with photos of their families in the United States.

He stated that it is an effort to "humanize" the cost of war and the sacrifices made by the United States.

They have 8,651 photographs to date.

The Netherlands is still searching for photos of the 1,400 American soldiers buried in their country, along with Vonk and their adoptive families.

The Faces of Margraten are honored by the Dutch people all year long, even though their photos are only placed next to their adopted GI's grave or name for five days each year.

Europeans "are grateful and, speaking for myself, inspired by what these Americans did for us."

During World War II, the Netherlands was conquered in 1940 and occupied until the war's end in 1945. Approximately 140,000 American soldiers were killed in Europe while fighting in the conflict.

Dutch families researching American soldiers often connect with and visit their families in the United States, and tend to their graves at Margraten.

Lawrence F. Shea, born in Brooklyn, New York on Sept. 12, 1923, was adopted by Vonk.

"The Faces of Margraten," written by Vonk, with Arie-Jan van Hees and Jori Videc, features Shea among the 250 GIs in its English edition, published in Nov. 2022 and available on Amazon and other online booksellers.

""Due to his mother's death in the 1930s, he spent part of his childhood in an orphanage," according to "Faces of Margraten" in its biography of Shea. The article describes him as a typical boy with a passion for sports."

A boy from Brooklyn, who was serving with the 80th Infantry Division during World War II, was killed by enemy tank artillery on April 2, 1945, while fighting just over the German border, not far from Margraten.

The success of the Faces of Margraten project has led Vonk and his Fields of Honor Foundation to expand the program to five other American military cemeteries in three different countries.

The American cemeteries in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg are named Ardennes, Henri-Chapelle, Epinal, Lorraine, and Luxembourg, respectively.

Local individuals and families have already claimed many of the American heroes buried in those graves.

An alternative version of the sentence could be: To ensure that all 42,000 American war heroes honored in those cemeteries, who perished during the liberation of Europe, are adopted by an individual or family.

He aims to match every GI with a photo at every cemetery.

The goal is to make sure all 42,000 American war heroes find an individual or family to adopt them.

According to Vonk, the existence of a waiting list for adopting graves at Margraten and the large number of graves already adopted in other cemeteries indicate how Europeans still view American liberators today.

"I am inspired and grateful for what these Americans did for us."

3 ways Americans can help

Fields of Honor pairs grateful adoptive European families with American war heroes, as suggested by Vonk.

Family members of soldiers are urged to search for photos or documents at home.

Soldiers in your home state or town are being encouraged to look up by members of the public, according to Vonk.

Libraries, high schools, historical societies, veterans associations, and relatives can be reached and called by Americans.

""In a sense, anyone can help because you never know where you will find a photo," said Vonk."

The Fields of Honor Foundation website provides more information for those interested in the project.

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