Semper fidelis

Walking through my hometown’s cemetery on Memorial Day, I spied this monument—a cenotaph—for Thomas John Van Dyke (b. 1890, d. 1918), a young Marine who lost his life in France during World War I.

IN MEMORY OF
THOMAS JOHN VAN DYKE
BORN MEMPHIS TENN. NOV. 17, 1890
ENLISTED MARINE CORPS JULY 21, 1917
KILLED ARGONNE NOV. 1, 1918
BURIED MONTFAUCON FRANCE
SEMPER FIDELIS

From the American Battle Monument Commission, http://abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/ma.php:

Within the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial in France, which covers 130.5 acres, rest the largest number of our military dead in Europe, a total of 14,246. Most of those buried here lost their lives during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of World War I. The immense array of headstones rises in long regular rows upward beyond a wide central pool to the chapel that crowns the ridge.

Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial

Photo courtesy of American Battle Monument Commission

The ABMC database lists Thomas J. Van Dyke as follows:

Thomas J. VAN Dyke
Private, U.S. Marine Corps
5th USMC Regiment, 2nd Division

Entered the Service from: Washington
Died: November 1, 1918
Buried at: Plot E Row 19 Grave 27
Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery
Romagne, France

---

Woodhill Cemetery, Warren County, Ohio