Robert M. Edsel

"His life of service has now brought us all together."

In 1945, Corporal Alfred "Fred" Guimond, a 22-year-old American soldier from Maine, gave his life in World War II and was laid to rest at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten. Like every American buried there, his grave was adopted by a Dutch family who never forgot him—or the promise made after liberation.

When Barbara and Gerard "Butch" Guimond first connected with Paula and Wiel Gielkens, the adopters of Fred's grave, they received a photograph that would become the beginning of a remarkable relationship. What began as one family's loss became a shared act of remembrance between two families separated by an ocean, but united by the memory of one young soldier.

For the Guimond family, learning that Fred's grave had not only been cared for, but honored with such devotion, brought comfort and a connection they never expected.

It is exactly the kind of relationship the Forever Promise Project was created to help make possible.

Every family of an American service member buried or memorialized in Margraten deserves to know that someone has been remembering their loved one, often for decades, and to have the opportunity to connect with those who have carried that promise forward.

Read the full story:

Forever Promise Story: The Guimond Family and Fred’s Grave Adopters Barbara and Gerard “Butch” Guimond share how Corporal Alfred “Fred” Guimond’s grave adopters in Margraten became family.

On Women Veterans Day, I’m reminded that some of history’s most important contributions are also among the least remembered.

Among the heroes of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program were 27 remarkable women whose work helped recover, preserve, and return cultural treasures in the aftermath of World War II.

Women like Major Mary Regan Quessenberry, who traveled throughout postwar Europe investigating looted art and helping return stolen treasures to their rightful owners, and Capt. Edith Standen—the only female member of the MFAA to receive the Bronze Star—who oversaw the restitution of thousands of cultural objects from the Wiesbaden Central Collecting Point.

Their stories remind us that service takes many forms, and that some of the most important contributions to history have too often gone unrecognized.

Today, we honor all women who have served our nation, and remember the remarkable women whose dedication helped preserve our shared cultural heritage for future generations.

Thank you to all women veterans for your service!

Read more about the Monuments Women: https://www.monumentsmenandwomenfnd.org/post/monuments-women-tribute

At its heart, the Forever Promise Project isn’t about history. It’s about people.

The families left behind, still carrying the loss. And the strangers on the other side of the ocean who first only knew a name on a headstone but have since come to know a life, a story, and a person who deserves to be remembered.

It is a privilege to help make those connections possible!

What is it like to walk in the footsteps of history?

The answer is difficult to describe. Reading history is powerful. Seeing a photograph can move us. But standing in the very places where history happened is something entirely different.

This September 10–14, I will once again lead a small group through the Netherlands and surrounding areas connected to the American experience during World War II, including time at Margraten, where Dutch families still honor American graves more than 80 years later.

Thoughtfully curated, this intimate, expertly guided tour includes exceptional accommodations, memorable dining, and exclusive access beyond the typical travel experience. Along the way, guests will experience history firsthand, meet the people who continue to preserve its legacy, and conclude the trip with a visit to one of the world's greatest artistic treasures: the Ghent Altarpiece.

A few spaces remain, and I would love for you to join me this September. Email [email protected] for additional information and a full brochure.

History is never more powerful than when you walk in the footsteps of those who lived it.

Nineteen years ago, we set out to ensure that the extraordinary legacy of the Monuments Men and Women would never be forgotten.

I’m so proud of all that has been accomplished since then—and grateful to everyone who has supported this mission to preserve history, honor service, and keep these stories alive for future generations.

Nineteen years ago, on June 6, 2007, the Foundation embarked a simple but urgent mission: to ensure that the story and legacy of the Monuments Men and Women would never be forgotten.

At the time, their work was known only within a very small circle of scholars. Over the past nineteen years, the Foundation has helped bring that story to a global audience, inspiring new scholarship, public interest, documentaries, exhibitions, provenance research, educational programs, and renewed attention to the unfinished work of restitution.

From recovering and returning cultural treasures to preserving the legacy of those who protected them, the Foundation has worked to keep this history alive and relevant. More recently, through the Forever Promise Project, we expanded that mission to include remembrance, ensuring that the intangible heritage of gratitude, adoption, and personal connection is preserved for future generations.

As we mark nineteen years, our work continues with the same sense of purpose that inspired its beginning. Thank you for your support!

Visit mmwf.org to donate, share our work, or get involved.

June 6, 1944. D-Day.

Thousands of Allied soldiers climbed into landing craft, boarded transport planes, and crossed the English Channel knowing many would never return home. They went anyway—and changed the course of history.

D-Day was not inevitable. Success was not guaranteed. History was not made by dates and battle plans alone. The outcome rested on the courage, sacrifice, and determination of ordinary people asked to do extraordinary things.

Eighty-two years later, we still live in the shadow of what was accomplished that day. We still enjoy freedoms secured by a generation willing to risk everything for a cause greater than themselves—a debt we can never fully repay.

In Remember Us, I tell the stories of the soldiers, families, and Dutch citizens whose lives were forever changed by the events of World War II, including Lieutenant Colonel Robert Cole of the 101st Airborne Division, who parachuted into Normandy in the opening hours of D-Day.

On this D-Day anniversary, I invite you to reflect on the bravery and selflessness that made June 6, 1944, one of the most consequential days in modern history.

For those who would like to learn more, I am making the "D-Day" chapter from Remember Us available to read free of charge at the link below.

A Gift in Honor of D-Day CHAPTER 26 | D-Day | Robert Cole | June1944 from Robert Edsel's "Remember Us: American Sacrifice, Dutch Freedom, and A Forever Promise Forged in World War II"

“Full victory,” Eisenhower told the paratroopers, “and nothing else.”

On the evening of June 5, 1944, hours before young Allied soldiers climbed into landing craft, boarded transport planes, and crossed the English Channel into history, General Eisenhower paid a surprise visit to the men of the 101st Airborne—the Screaming Eagles.

He didn’t expect to recognize anyone. But then a familiar face stepped forward: Lieutenant Colonel Robert Cole, a young officer Ike had once known at Fort Lewis.

Cole was smeared with charcoal and vegetable oil. His pockets were packed with gear. In just hours, he and his men would parachute behind enemy lines—no backup, no escape.

And yet he smiled. Not for the camera. Not for show. A quiet smile, a wink, as if to say: Don’t worry, General. We got this.

Within hours, he would be heading into the night sky over England.

Tomorrow would be D-Day.

Behind every number on this list is an unfinished connection waiting to be made.

Over the past year, the Forever Promise Project has helped connect hundreds of American families with the Dutch grave adopters who have cared for their loved one's resting place at the Netherlands American Cemetery since World War II. Many families are discovering for the first time that someone across the ocean has been honoring their hero for generations.

But thousands of connections are still waiting to happen.

The numbers below represent service members from each state whose families have not yet been connected to their grave adopters.

We need your help!

Local media outlets, veterans organizations, genealogy groups, historical societies, community organizations, and people like you have already helped us find families. Every story shared, every conversation started, and every introduction made brings us one step closer to completing another connection.

If you know of a local media outlet that may be interested in sharing this story—or if you would like information about the unconnected heroes from your state—please let us know.

Together, we can ensure that every family of an American service member buried at Margraten has the opportunity to discover a remarkable truth:

Their loved one has never been forgotten.

“I know in my heart that he’s in good hands.”

This is why we do what we do. A promise made in gratitude more than 80 years ago continues to create new friendships that feel like family.

If you have been connected through the Forever Promise Project, we would love to know what this connection has meant to you!

I am still thinking about Memorial Day weekend in Margraten, and especially about Private First Class Harry Humason and Private First Class Arnold Strauch, two World War II veterans I had the honor of meeting.

There is something profoundly humbling about meeting those who carried the weight of that generation, and then standing together in a place dedicated to remembering so many who never came home. Margraten has a way of making the past feel very present.

I am grateful for the chance to share a moment with these two heroes in a place where their generation will never be forgotten—moments like these remind us why remembrance matters, and why it must continue.