The St Mihiel battlefield remains much as it was in 1918. The region’s landscape is still characterized by rolling hills, interspersed with woodlands and small towns. The remains of German fortifications can be found throughout the region.
There are two American memorials in the area. The St Mihiel American Cemetery is located west of Thiaucourt. In its approximately 40 acres are buried 4,153 American dead. At the center of the cemetery is a large sundial surmounted by an American eagle. The site also includes a statue of a World War I soldier and a white stone memorial consisting of a small chapel and a map building. The chapel contains a mosaic portraying an angel sheathing his sword and on two walls of the museum are recorded the names of 284 of the missing.
The Montsec American Monument is located on the hill of Montsec, 12 miles southeast of the St Mihiel American Cemetery. The monument is dedicated to the American offensive and consists of a large circular colonnade, at the center of which, on a raised platform, is a bronze relief map of the St Mihiel salient. Around the top of the colonnade are the names of the towns captured by the Americans during the offensive. Along the stair leading to the colonnade is an engraved dedication reading:
This Monument has been erected by the United States of America to commemorate the capture of the St Mihiel salient by the troops of her first army and to record the services of the American Expeditionary forces on the battlefields in this region and elsewhere in Lorraine and in Alsace. It stands as a lasting symbol of the friendship and cooperation between the French and American armies.
The American cemetery at Thiaucourt, shown in the 1920s.
The American monument at Montsec.