It was America's deadliest battle ever, with 26,000 U.S. soldiers killed, tens of thousands wounded and more ammunition fired than in the whole of the Civil War. The Meuse-Argonne offensive in 1918 was also a great American victory that helped bringing an end to World War 1.
A remembrance ceremony will take place Sunday afternoon in the Meuse-Argonne cemetery, which is surrounded by fields and forests in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, a village in northeastern France. More than 14,000 graves will be lit with candles to honor those buried there.
Early Sunday, volunteers began reading the soldiers' names aloud ahead of the ceremony, while others placed candles on all the crosses.
William M. Matz, secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) that maintains the site, says it's important to transmit history to younger generations.
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