The American Cemetery at Neupré on the edge of the Ardennes is normally deserted. But occasionally a visitor comes to wander among the neat rows of simple white stone crosses.
They mark the graves of 5,328 American soldiers who died in Belgium in the Second World War, mostly during the bitter winter offensive fought in the forests and fields around Bastogne from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945.
A memorial chapel occupies a square white building decorated with a huge American eagle. Inside are three large wall maps showing the course of the war as Europe was slowly liberated.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
