GRANDCHILDREN OF WORLD LEADERS VISIT AMERICAN CEMETERY

On Sunday 2 October 2005, a very special wreath laying ceremony and meeting took place at the American cemetery. Sixty years after the future of Europe was decided at Yalta by the world leaders Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin, their respective grandchildren, Curtis Roosevelt, Winston S. Churchill and Yevgeni Jugashvilli, paid a visit to Maastricht and the American cemetery in Margraten.

At the cemetery, they were welcomed by Mayor H. van Beers and Mr. Haggerty, the acting director of the cemetery. After a brief welcoming speech and an informal meeting, Mayor Van Beers gave the guests copies of the book ‘Crosses in the Wind’, in which Joseph Shomon describes how the American cemetery of Margraten was established. To ensure a dry stay in our country, they were also provided with a ‘Margraten’ umbrella. After that, the guests paid a visit to the cemetery in an informal and relaxed atmosphere.

 

* Mayor Van Beers in conversation with (from left to right) the grandchildren of Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt. In uniform: Mr. Haggerty of the cemetery. Photo on right: the wreath laying.