USAG Benelux color guard is participating at the Memorial Day Ceremony in Bastogne June 1, 2018. (U.S. Army photo by Julie Piron)

Bastogne honors the fallen on June 1

CHIÈVRES, Belgium -- Bastogne will observe Memorial Day in the presence of senior U.S. and Belgian officials during a ceremony at the Mardasson Memorial June 1 at 3:30 p.m.

The first Memorial Day ceremony in Bastogne took place in 1951. This patriotic event is dedicated to honoring the memory of all those who gave their lives during the Battle of the Bulge.

This year, “Liberty Road” participants will be involved in the weekend’s events. Liberty Road consists of three consecutive days of friendship and respect between the different nations. This year, Arlon, Houffalize and Hotton will host the 250 cyclists on May 31 to June 2.

At 4:30 p.m., after the ceremony at Mardasson, hundreds of amateur cyclists from different countries will arrive in Bastogne after travelling the route taken by Gen. George S. Patton's Third Army in World War II.

On June 6, 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy and liberated France. They then arrived in Bastogne on Sept. 10, 1944. After the war, French Col. Guy de la Vasselais carried out his plan to mark the route that Patton's troops took with stone markers placed at every kilometer. These became the stone markers of Liberty Road.

From Sainte-Mère-Église, France, to Bastogne, Belgium, these markers feature a flame coming out of the waves, symbol of liberty and the arrival of liberating troops by the sea.

This year is special for Bastogne, because it is also the 25th anniversary of the Bois de la Paix (known as the “Peace Woods”). From 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., a ceremony will commemorate the event with various tributes and the addition of new sentinel cities.

Of the 4,000 trees that make up this wood, 400 of them bear the names of American veterans who fought in Bastogne during the winter of 1944 to 1945.

USAG Benelux Public Affairs