Just in time for Veterans Day. According to Newsweek, the American cemetery in the Netherlands is racist. Why? Because the cemetery has removed any mention of African American soldiers who fought in World War II.

Plaques commemorating African American soldiers fighting against Nazi Germany in Europe have been removed from a U.S. military cemetery in the Netherlands.

Approximately 1 million African American soldiers fought in Europe during World War II.

More than 8,200 Americans are buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery in the southern village of Margraten, just east of city of Maastricht. Another 1,700 officially counted as missing have their names displayed at the site, according to the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), the U.S. agency responsible for the Dutch site.

A total of 174 African American soldiers are buried or memorialized at Margraten, according to the Dutch research project, the Black Liberators. It is the only U.S. military cemetery in the country.

As you might surmise, there is much more to the hoax that Newsweek started peddling yesterday. The problem is, all those on X who are now screaming about this are taking everything that Newsweek is selling at face value. 

But he loves “the blacks” so much that he is erasing their history. Amazing love https://t.co/IEfKABjjZY

— Staff Sergeant Gonell, Aquilino (@SergeantAqGo) November 10, 2025

Obviously he didn’t read the entire story. What Newsweek fails to mention, on purpose I believe, is that this cemetery is not only a resting place for our American soldiers who fought so hard to free Europe from Hitler’s grasp, there’s a very uniquely beautiful tie to Margraten itself.

There are 8288 American soldiers buried on this 65 acre site. 

The Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is the only American military cemetery in the Netherlands. The cemetery site has a rich historical background. The cemetery’s tall memorial tower can be seen before reaching the site, which covers 65.5 acres. From the cemetery entrance visitors pass the Visitor Center and are led to the Court of Honor. At the base of the tower facing the reflecting pool is the statue of the Mourning Woman, representing women who have suffered loss during the war. To the right and left are the office building and the map room containing three large, engraved operations maps with texts depicting the military operations of the American armed forces. Stretching along the sides of the court are the Walls of the Missing on which 1,722 names are recorded. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.

Within the tower is the chapel. The light fixture in the chapel and the altar ornaments are the generous gifts of the government of the Netherlands and the administration and the people of the Province of Limburg. Beyond the tower is the burial area divided into 16 plots, where over 8,000 of our military dead rest, their headstones set in long curves. A wide, tree-lined mall leads to the flagstaff that crowns the crest.

In fact, rosettes identifying some of the missing were placed in August and September. But there’s something else about this cemetery that very few people know about, and Newsweek ignored. 

Three generations of a Dutch family have been the caretakers of an American soldier’s grave since 1945 — and promise future descendants will do the same.

Ernest Francis Fichtl Jr., from the Little Neck neighborhood of Queens, was killed during one of World War II’s bloodiest European battles and is buried at Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten.

But until recently, his family back in New York did not know that his grave site is lovingly tended to by his adopted family in the Netherlands. And it’s not the only one.

No, it certainly isn’t. Many families from Margraten, generations of them since World War II are working to keep the graves tended. 

What a wonderful way to honor and cherish both the service and sacrifice of our American soldiers!

But Newsweek just had to try and vilify this cemetery over some Dutch research project throwing a hissy fit because panels telling the story of the African American soldiers buried there were supposedly yanked from view, never to be seen again. 

Except…. they weren’t.  There are ONLY 15 panels at a time that can be on view. Remember, there are 8,288 soldiers buried there. EVERY soldier’s story will be told. Yet Newsweek decided publishing an egregious hoax was the way to go. 

https://twitter.com/RetiredUSN_USPS/status/1988043708982534158

But Newsweek would have us believe that the story panels telling of the Black soldiers buried there were yanked out of spite and racism. 

And far too many have bought the dreck they are peddling and are running with it. They were banking on no one actually reading the entire story. 

The ABMC told Newsweek in a statement that the visitors’ center at Margraten had 15 magnetic panels “designed to be removed and rotated throughout the life of the exhibit to highlight as many individual stories as possible.”

“Of these, four currently feature African American service members buried at the cemetery,” the commission said.

So, there are panels currently featuring African American soldiers? Good to know. Yet Newsweek decided their hoax is the narrative. 

Which is a huge slap in the face to not only ALL the soldiers interred there, but also to the generations of Dutch families who’ve been tending their graves and plan to continue to do so. 

And the media still fails to understand why they are so disliked. 

Feature Photo Credit: Graves at American cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands via Flickr, cropped and modified