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After the Battle of Normandy, the US 1st Infantry Division (‘Big Red One’) participated in the liberation of Belgium, pushing back German troops behind the Rhine. Several memorials to this division are located in east Belgium, two of them in Eupen.
The US 1st Infantry Division liberated Eupen on 11 September 1944. It then crossed the Siegfried line and attacked the city of Aachen, Germany, which surrendered on 21 October 1944. ‘Big Red One’ was later stationed in Büllingen and participated in the Battle of the Bulge from December 1944.
The memorial situated in the centre of Eupen commemorates the liberation of the city. It was inaugurated on 2 June 1984 in the presence of veterans and active soldiers of the US 1st Division, which was then based in Göppingen, Germany. The commemoration was organised by a group of Resistance fighters from Eupen, who had been part of 'Service D of the American Legion'. Among them was Mathias Moeris, who unveiled the memorial. His grave can be located in the cemetery of honour of the city.
The monument is significantly composed of stones from the USA, Normandy and the Ardennes. Its inscription reads:
America Square
Monument
in memory of
the American
First Infantry Division
1944
S.D. American Legion
Another stone below depicts a shoulder patch of the 1st Infantry Division surrounded by a US and a Belgian Flag. The inscription below reads:
Presented 2 June 1984
in honor of the friendship
between the soldiers of the
United States Army’s
1st Infantry Division and the
CITY OF EUPEN
In the lower part of the city, you can find a so called 'Demarcation Stone'. These 26 stones show where the German Ardennes Offensive was stopped. They can be found between Eupen and Bastogne and were installed by the 'Touring Club de la Belgique' between 8 May 1949 and 1953.
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