Formed 1923 (1923) Phone +1 703-696-6900 Founded 1923 | Website abmc.gov Number of employees 395 (2014) | |
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Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd.,
Suite 500
Arlington, Virginia 22201 Annual budget $63.2 million USD (2014) Agency executive Merrill A. McPeak, Chairman Address Arlington Courthouse Plz 1 & 2, 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201, USA Similar Arlington National Cemetery, World War II Memorial, National Cemetery Administr, Korean War Veterans, President John F Kennedy Profiles | ||
American battle monuments commission tour
The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) is a small independent agency of the United States government that administers, operates, and maintains permanent U.S. military cemeteries, memorials and monuments both inside and outside the United States.
Contents
- American battle monuments commission tour
- American battle monuments commission
- History
- Structure
- Chairmen of the ABMC
- Political
- Board of Commissioners
- Secretary
- Operations
- References
As of 2015, there are 25 sites under the care of the ABMC. There are 124,905 U.S. servicemen and servicewomen interred at these sites, and more than 94,000 missing in action, or lost or buried at sea, whose names are individually carved into monuments. The ABMC also maintains an online database of names associated with each site.
American battle monuments commission
History
The ABMC was established by the United States Congress in 1923. Its purpose is to:
The United States Department of War established eight European burial grounds for World War I. The ABMC's first program was landscaping and erecting non-sectarian chapels at each of the eight sites, constructing 11 separate monuments and two tablets at other sites in Europe, and constructing the Allied Expeditionary Forces World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. For those buried who could not be identified during World War I, a percentage were commemorated by Star of David markers, rather than a cross; this practice was not continued for those who could not be identified during World War II.
In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order transferring control of the eight cemeteries to the ABMC, and made the commission responsible for the design, construction, maintenance and operation of all future permanent American military burial grounds outside the United States.
The ABMC has been the caretaker of cemeteries, monuments and memorials for World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Mexican–American War. In 2013, Clark Veterans Cemetery in the Philippines became the 25th site under the control of the commission. Clark Veterans Cemetery dates back to the Philippine–American War at the turn of the 20th century.
Structure
The agency has its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and its Overseas Operations Office in Garches, France.
The authorizing legislation for the American Battle Monuments Commission (36 U.S.C., Chapter 21) specifies that the President will appoint the chairman, up to 10 members to the commission (who serve indefinite terms and who serve without pay) and an officer of the Army to serve as the secretary.
Chairmen of the ABMC
Political
The Commission is non-partisan politically.
Board of Commissioners
Secretary
Operations
The American Battle Monuments Commission employed a full-time staff of 395 people around the world in 2014. All ABMC sites are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, with the exception of Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Cemeteries are not closed for national holidays. When the sites are open to the public, a commission staff member is available to escort visitors and relatives to grave and memorial sites or to answer questions.