Time Will Not Dim: American Battle Monuments Commission, A Century of Service, 1923–2023

The American Battle Monuments Commission, established as a federal agency by Congress in 1923, is the preeminent guardian of America’s overseas military cemeteries and memorials. Managing and maintaining twenty-six cemeteries and thirty-two monuments across seventeen countries, ABMC staff have worked tirelessly each day to honor the service, achievements, and sacrifice of United States armed forces of World War I, World War II, and other conflicts.

Celebrating one hundred years of ABMC’s work, this special anniversary edition gives an overview of the agency’s history and how, from its earliest days, the Commission thoughtfully planned these commemorative sites and then worked to maintain them in perpetuity. Enlisting architects and artists, ABMC designed landscapes rich in beauty and symbolism that give meaning to the loss of American lives and stand as enduring monuments to more than one hundred thousand who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Beautifully illustrated with color and historical photographs, architectural plans, sketches, and selected artist profiles, the publication offers an indelible portrait of America’s commitment to honoring her war dead, and of ABMC’s abiding mission to preserve these sites and tell the stories of U.S. servicemembers. The country and the Commission together fulfill the promise of General of the Armies John J. Pershing (1860–1948), who said of America’s fallen, “Time will not dim the glory of their deeds.”