White marble gravestones stand sentinel over the remains of American war heroes who were killed in distant lands while defending liberty. The sight of these silent rows of Christian crosses and Jewish Stars of David stirs the spirit of millions of Americans. They appear in movies and documentaries, inspire songs and tributes, and draw millions of visitors each year.
“The Americans lying in these battlefields continue to serve the nation,” said Charles K. Djou, the secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission, in a recent interview. The numbers are sobering. About 234,000 United States servicemembers killed in wartime are interred in 26 cemeteries near where they fell across 17 nations around the world. These war heroes rest in peace today — yet they remain on duty. Djou’s agency, based in Washington, D.C., manages those 26 cemeteries and 31 international memorials to U.S. war dead.
“They continue to serve as a reminder to this world that America truly is a unique nation and the American people are a unique people,” Djou said of the fallen. “They remind us that we stand up for the values we believe in and are willing to send our youngest and finest citizens to die for these values.”
Djou discussed his agency’s mission and its plans for Memorial Day this year, as well as for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France, which took place on June 6, 1944. Djou himself is attending Memorial Day ceremonies at Florence American Cemetery in Italy, while each ABMC site is hosting events and tributes over the holiday weekend. On June 6, Djou and the ABMC will welcome dignitaries, speakers, and guests to the Normandy American Cemetery in France.
Djou has served for more than 20 years in the U.S. Army Reserve. Now a colonel, he deployed with the 10th Mountain Division to Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2011-2012 during Operation Enduring Freedom. Before that mission, he represented Hawaii as a Republican in the U.S. Congress.
In the interview, Djou shared an impassioned testament to the values of the United States and its unique role in world history. He paid tribute to the heroic role America’s young people have played in the defense of “freedom, liberty, and democracy” — not only on their own soil but in the distant lands where they rest today and where they “continue to serve.”
“I recognize that the United States of America has not always been perfect,” said Djou. “By no means are we a perfect nation or a perfect people. But I do believe America at its finest is reflected in the mission of the American Battle Monuments Commission.”
“America, when we are at our best, unlike any other country in the world, sends our young, our finest, and our brightest not to fight for a king or crown, a pope or faith, or for conquest,” he said. “Rather, we send our young Americans to fight for words and values: freedom, liberty, and democracy.”
“And then when the job is done, unlike any other country in the world, we Americans go home. We go home when the job is done. And the only thing America asks for in exchange for that sacrifice is a few small plots of land to bury our dead.”
“My agency’s responsibility is to manage and maintain those few plots of land so that America remembers so that the world remembers what America stands for, what America is all about,” said Djou. “These soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield continue to serve today. They continue to serve as a reminder that America truly is a unique nation and the American people are a unique people. They remind us that we stand up for the values we believe in and are willing to send our youngest and finest citizens to die for these values.”
“I understand that in the 21st century, many Americans are frustrated by the banality often seen on social media or television. Americans are frustrated by the divisions they frequently see in our government,” Djou noted. “Many people question whether America still has it within them, whether they still believe in freedom and liberty, whether America will still rise to the occasion and do great things.”
“My agency and our staff are here to remind America that every single one of these sites and graves, whether in Normandy or southern France, Tunisia, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, or the Philippines, represents the spirit of sacrifice that is part of America’s DNA. This is core to what it means to be an American.”
“When Americans look around and get disappointed by what they see on television, and see how trivial it is, these soldiers lying under these crosses and Stars of David around the world give us a daily reminder today and into the future that America truly offers something special and unique in this world,” “They remind us that we still have this greatness in our American soul.”