Flanders Field American Cemetery, Belgium

To honor the centennial anniversary of the First World War, CyArk partnered with the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to document eight military cemetery chapels dedicated to the American armed forces throughout Europe. CyArk digitally documented the Flanders Field American Cemetery using laser scanning, photogrammetry, and aerial drone photography. CyArk’s digital documentation of the Flanders Field Cemetery chapel and its surrounding landscape allows people who are unable to physically visit the site to experience the monument and remember those who gave their lives for their country and the Allied cause on Belgium soil.

Positioned at the center of almost four hundred headstones is the Flanders Field American Cemetery chapel. In the “Stripped Classical” style of the cemetery, architect and World War I veteran, Paul P. Cret designed the chapel. While the exterior is unvarnished, apart from  the words “Greet them with grateful hearts” at its entrance, the interior chapel walls bear a lengthy inscription, written in English, French, and Flemish: “This chapel has been erected by the United States of America in memory of her soldiers with fought and died in Belgium during the World War. These graves are the permanent and visible symbol of the heroic devotion with which they gave their lives to the common cause of humanity.” Elements throughout the chapel, such as a striking Grand Antique marble altar, bas-relief carvings, and a silver and gold mosaic ceiling, make up the shrine to the many fallen, yet unforgotten, American soldiers who fought there a century ago.