| General Patton reached Verdun in September 1944. Patton’s arrival in Verdun along with the British arrival in Flanders represented the Allies retaking the heavily-contested battlefields from World War I. In the interwar period, places such as Ypres, Arras, and Verdun became sites of pilgrimage and tourism for those wanting to honor the fallen. Verdun is one of the most striking representations of the folly of war. Cemeteries holding the remains of those killed from 1914-1918 are abound. The French National Cemetery and Douaumont Ossuary hold the remains of 130,000 soldiers. Remains are still found and brought to the Ossuary every year. The nearby Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery is the final resting place of 14,246 American soldiers. |
