Best-selling author Robert Edsel calls on Legionnaires to share next-of-kin information with grave adopters in The Netherlands and launch a similar program in the United States.
A Dutch grave-adoption program that began in the village of Margraten nearly as soon as U.S. troops were first buried in a temporary cemetery there in 1944 is still going strong today.
Three and four generations removed from those who endured firsthand the bloodshed and hardships of World War II in Europe, the adoptions are a sacred tradition for a population that has not forgotten the price paid in U.S. lives for its freedom from Nazi occupation.
More than 10,000 Dutch citizens have adopted graves and names of the missing in what was initially the U.S. Military Cemetery, Margraten, and since 1960 has been The Netherlands American Cemetery of the American Battle Monuments Commission. There is a waiting list of adopters ready to take on the responsibility should anyone relinquish it; rarely does that happen.
The problem, however, is that too few of the devoted Dutch grave adopters (about 25%) have next-of-kin information about the fallen U.S. heroes they and their families have embraced as their own for more than eight decades.
“Every state in the United States is represented, from the 113 sons of Alabama to the 16 sons of Wyoming, but the Dutch adopters are only in contact with 2,000 out of the 10,000 Americans buried at Margraten,” New York Times No. 1 best-selling author Robert Edsel told delegates to the 106th American Legion National Convention in Tampa, Fla., Wednesday. “We want to see that change. We are using the visibility of my book and events such as this to encourage Americans, to encourage you, to visit the foreverpromise.org website, search the database … and if you have a relative memorialized there, complete a short questionnaire that will enable our foundations to connect the other 8,000 Dutch adopters to the American families.”
Edsel’s 2025 “Remember Us” is his fourth nonfiction book. He wrote “The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and The Greatest Treasure Hunt” (2009) which was made into a critically acclaimed 2014 feature film starring George Clooney, John Goodman, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchette and others. His work on that project ultimately led him to spend eight years researching and writing “Remember Us,” which follows a diverse set of characters who fought, some of whom died and were buried in Margraten, and the Dutch citizens who made a “forever promise” to never forget their sacrifices.
Soon after the war ended, Emilie Michiels van Kessenich – wife of the mayor of Mastricht near Margraten – was frustrated by the U.S. government’s unwillingness to share next-of-kin information with the Citizens Committee Margraten. The committee cared for the original cemetery and coordinated the adoption program. She flew to the United States in 1946 – her first time in an airplane – and met with media and leaders in New York and Washington, as well as American Legion posts in Texas and Connecticut, to seek support and find next-of-kin information.
Information was discovered for about 20% of the fallen, which later grew to about 25%.
Edsel said the story of the Dutch and their unwavering commitment to keep their “forever promise” has given his Monuments Men and Women Foundation a new direction – to establish a similar grave-adoption program in the United States for U.S. veterans, regardless of war era.
He told the crowd that such a program can bridge the gap of understanding between today’s citizens and veterans, who represent a declining percentage of the U.S. population, far less than in the decades following World War II.
“How can we fill the void created by the loss of such impactful teachers?” Edsel asked the crowd. “How do we rebuild the ‘connective tissue,’ as Tom Brokaw referred to it, that once existed between the men and women in uniform, who serve our nation, and those who derive the benefits from their service, especially in an era of an all-volunteer force?
“I believe the Dutch have provided us the answer – a grave-adoption program of fallen Americans, by Americans. The Monuments Men and Women Foundation wants to expand the Forever Promise Project by creating a grave-adoption program for American servicemembers killed in the service of their country who are buried in the United States. We want to build an army of young adopters to preserve the memory of our fallen, of all wars. We want to use their stories, their legacy of service to the nation, to teach and inspire young Americans and fill that void created by the loss of the veterans in schools, who once taught us. And we want to establish that same human connection, and empathy, between the young people of our nation and the family members of veterans who have lost a loved one.
“This is an ambitious project that will require partners and patience, to customize the Forever Promise Project to our nation, just as the Dutch did for theirs. It is my hope that businesses and organizations of goodwill, especially The American Legion, will join us in this noble undertaking. What could be a more fitting tribute as we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation and its independence?”
- Convention