Mexico City National Cemetery

Established in 1851 by Congress, American dead of the Mexican War are interred in this cemetery.

Video Transcript:
In the heart of the capital city of Mexico is the oldest known burial ground for fallen American servicemembers outside the United States.
The Mexico City National Cemetery is a tranquil tropical garden of lilies, roses, and palm trees.
In it lie the remains of nearly 1600 Americans – many of them buried over 150 years ago.
The cemetery was established in 1851 to gather American dead from the Mexican-American War – many of whom still lay in shallow battlefield graves three years after the war’s end.
In 1946, the ABMC assumed responsibility for the cemetery.
The remains of 750 servicemembers share a common grave under a simple but elegant monument.
Their identities are lost, but in this pristine setting they are remembered and honored forever.
The remains of over 800 more Americans lie in a columbarium marked with their headstones.
Some of these, too, served in the Mexican-American War.
Others were veterans of the Civil War and the Spanish-American War.
This small cemetery tells the vast story of the centuries of service and sacrifices by Americans in foreign lands.