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