Eighty Years of Gratitude: The Legacy of Monuments Man Captain Huchthausen and the Dutch Who Remember

A portrait taken of Walter Huchthausen in uniform shortly before his death. Photo: Van Schaïk/Gumn Family Photographs.

Captain Walter J. Huchthausen (1904–1945), the only American Monuments Man killed in action during World War II, is honored for his sacrifice through the enduring care of his grave at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten.

A gifted architect and educator, Huchthausen joined the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (MFAA) in 1944 after transferring from the Army Air Forces. He was assigned as the Monuments officer for the Ninth US Army, where he oversaw emergency preservation efforts in that army’s area of operations, including the stabilization of Aachen Cathedral—the resting place of Charlemagne and seminal work of Carolingian architect.

While Ninth US Army was based in Maastricht, in the southern Dutch province of Limburg, many American service members befriended the residents they had liberated in September 1944. Huchthausen, assigned to Ninth Army’s headquarters, was a frequent guest at the Van Schaïk home in the small village of Heer, roughly four miles to the east of Maastricht. There, he often shared his passion for art and architecture during his visits.

Tragically, on April 2, 1945, Huchthausen was killed by enemy fire north of the Ruhr Pocket while en route to inspect a reported location of looted artworks. His death came just weeks before Germany’s surrender. The Van Schaïks quickly learned of Huchthausen’s death, and it was their youngest child, Frieda—who had enjoyed many conversations with the Monuments officer—who rode her bicycle the few miles to what was then the Ninth US Army Cemetery in Margraten, just days after his burial. There, she honored her fallen friend by placing a bouquet of flowers on his freshly mounded grave.

 In October 1945, in an attempt to reach Huchthausen’s family, she wrote to the only address she had, that of Harvard University, his alma mater.

“We have been deeply touched by the message of his sudden death,” Frieda wrote. “I’d be very pleased if I could come in touch with his family. He is buried at the large U.S. military cemetery at Margraten, Holland (a place 6 miles from where I live) and I am taking care for his grave now. . . . If you know the address of Walter Huchthausen’s mother, I’ll be much obliged to you if you’d let me know.”

Frieda laying flowers at Walter Huchthausen’s grave. Photo: Van Schaïk/Gumn Family Photographs.

Since his burial in Margraten eight decades ago, Huchthausen’s grave and those of his fallen comrades have been faithfully honored through generations of adopters and the dedicated efforts of the Foundation for Adopting Graves American Cemetery Margraten (Stichting Adoptie Graven Amerikaanse Begraafplaats Margraten). This unique adoption program began in early 1945, when Dutch residents decided to eternally honor those who liberated their country at the ultimate cost. This tradition gained rapid and heartfelt support; by the second Memorial Day after the war in May 1946, every grave—nearly 18,000 in total at that time—had been adopted. These adopters vowed to remember, despite having limited or no next-of-kin information for their service members’ families.

Robert M. Edsel with today's adopters of Walter Huchthausen's grave. May 25, 2025.

This weekend—the 81st Memorial Day since the establishment of the military cemetery in Margraten—the dedicated officials of the American Battle Monuments Commission, along with the Dutch adopters of the Netherlands American Cemetery, will honor the approximately 10,000 American service members who are buried or commemorated on the Walls of the Missing within the grounds of the cemetery. Each personal act of remembrance reflective of a profound sense of gratitude and an enduring bond between the Netherlands and the United States.

THE FOREVER PROMISE PROJECT

The Foundation for Adopting Graves American Cemetery Margraten continues to bridge the gap between American families and Dutch adopters. Yet, despite being embraced so widely in the Netherlands, this remarkable tradition remains largely unknown in the United States. Many American families are unaware that a relative is buried in Margraten—or that someone in the Netherlands has been honoring them for decades. That is why the Monuments Men and Women Foundation in partnership with the Foundation for Adopting Graves American Cemetery Margraten, and with the support of Find a Grave and Fold3 by Ancestry, has launched the Forever Promise Project, an initiative that aims to connect American families with Dutch adopters of their fallen loved ones and ensure that these stories of remembrance are preserved.

We encourage you to visit the project’s website at ForeverPromise.org.