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Military Memorial Ceremonies

Images of dignitaries laying wreaths and participating in memorial ceremonies across various war memorial sites to honor fallen soldiers.

Paris. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, beneath the Arc de Triomphe. (Editorial Use Only)
Paris. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, beneath the Arc de Triomphe. (Editorial Use Only)
161 assets in this story
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U.S. Air Force Col. Julie Gaulin, 374th Airlift Wing vice commander, left, and Dr. Hiroya Sugano, right, ceremony host, prepare to pour bourbon over a B-29 Monument as a tradition to honor the fallen during a U.S.-Japan Joint Memorial Service June 11, 2022, at Mt. Shizuhata in Shizuoka city, Japan. The memorial service provided participants the opportunity to honor those who lost their lives during a World War II air raid on June 20, 1945. During the raid, two U.S. Army Air Forces B-29 Superfortresses collided mid-air over Shizuoka City, resulting in the death of 23 Airmen on board the aircraft. Representatives of the U.S. Air Forces Yokota Air Base, Japan Self Defense Force, and Shizuoka City rendered their respects to the Airmen and Japanese civilians who lost their lives as a result of the tragedy, and reflected on the strong alliance the U.S. and Japan have forged since the end of World War II.
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Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper participate in a wreath laying at the National War Memorial, in New Delhi, India, on October 27, 2020.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Former NASA astronaut Jon McBride, left, and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana place a wreath honoring Henry W. "Hank" Hartsfield at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.Hartsfield commanded space shuttle Discovery's maiden mission and was a veteran of three shuttle flights. He died July 17 after an illness. He was 80 years old. Hartsfield joined NASA in 1969 and was part of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 16 and the Skylab 2, 3 and 4 missions. He logged 483 hours in space during missions STS-4, on which he served as pilot, as well as STS-41D and STS-61A, both of which he commanded.
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Laying of memorial wreaths during the Veterans Day Commemorative Ceremony at Florence American Cemetery and Memorial, Florence, Italy Nov. 11, 2022.
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061207-N-2529H-003. Base: Washington State: District Of Columbia (DC) Country: United States Of America (USA)
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From left: U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Kristina L. Schneider, of the 179th Airlift Wing, Ohio National Guard; Tech Sgt. Brett A. Yoakum, of the 164th Airlift Wing, Tennessee National Guard; Master Sgt. Daniel P. Keller, of the 124th Fighter Wing, Idaho National Guard; and Senior Master Sgt. Jonathan Sotomayor, of the 125th Fighter Squadron, Florida National Guard, pose for a photo at the Air Force Memorial, Arlington, Virginia, on Aug. 22, 2022. The event was part of Focus on the Force Week 2022an annual event hosted by the command chief of the Air National Guard that highlights professional development and celebrates the accomplishments of the enlisted corps.
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jsc2017e039460 (04/03/2017) --- At the Kremlin Wall in Red Square in Moscow. Expedition 51 crewmember Jack Fischer of NASA lays flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred during traditional ceremonies April 3. Looking on is his crewmate, Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, left)). They will launch April 20 on the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a four and a half month mission on the International Space Station. Photo: NASA/Rob Navias
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Tomb of an unknown soldier
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U.S. Army Col. Shannon-Mikal Lucas, deputy provost marshal general, Office of the Provost Marshal General; U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Viridiana Lavalle, military working dog program manager, Office of the Provost Marshal General; and others watch the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., Sept. 27, 2022.
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Couple tracing names from the wall of names at a war memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington DC, USA
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Spc. Steven Vought, a bugler with the 10th Mountain Division Band, performed Il Silenzio, the Italian armed forces version of Taps during the wreath-laying ceremony Nov. 4 at the grave of the Italian Soldier buried at the POW Cemetery. (Photo by Mike Strasser, Fort Drum Garrison Public Affairs)
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Vietnam Memorial Wall with Rose Washington DC (MR)
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Slavyansk on Kuban, Russia - September 9, 2016: Crown of Marines emblem. Monument and the name board at the eternal flame in the city of Slavyansk on Kuban. Memory of the fallen soldiers.. Crown of Marines emblem. Monument and the name board at the eter
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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rear Admiral David Ledson ONZM RNZN rtd lay a wreath at the National War Memorial in Wellington, New Zealand, on November 5, 2010.
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040121-F-5253G-091. Base: Arlington National Cemetery State: Virginia (VA) Country: United States Of America (USA)
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040611-N-1450G-054. Base: Simi Valley State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)
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Ron Finch, former commander of U.S. Army Garrison Fort Carson, lays his hand on the memorial with names of Fallen Hero's after the Mountain Post Warrior Memorial Ceremony, May 26, 2022, at Fort Carson, Colorado. "The names on these stones tell a story of freedom," said Maj. Gen. David Hodne, commanding general, 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson. "They also tell a story of fathers, mothers, husbands, sons, and daughters. They will always be our heroes."
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Remembrance Day
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Members of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) disinter the remains of an unknown service member during a disinterment ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, June 6, 2022. The ceremony was part of the agencys efforts to disinter and identify the remains of unknown service members lost during the Korean War. DPAAs mission is to achieve the fullest possible accounting for missing and unaccounted-for U.S. personnel to their families and our nation.
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jsc2018e097311 - Outside the Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, the Expedition 58 prime and backup crewmembers raise the flags of Russia, the United States, Canada and Kazakhstan Nov. 21 in a traditional ceremony. Anne McClain of NASA, Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency will launch Dec. 3 on the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station...NASA/Victor Zelentsov.
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U.S. National Guard Soldiers and Airmen with the South Carolina National Guard Honor Guard participate in a wreath-laying ceremony for the Armed Forces Memorial at the State House in Columbia, South Carolina, Dec. 12, 2022. The wreath is placed to honor and remember the servicemen and women who served in the armed forces and made the ultimate sacrifice. (U.S. Army National Guard photos by Sgt. Tim Andrews)
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Memorial to World Trade Center Attack Victims New York City USA
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Raymond D. Kemp Sr., left, a commissioner with the American Battle Monuments Commission, and Cynthia Martinez, chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System lay a wreath during the Battle of Midway commemoration ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, June 7, 2022. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Midway, which was a turning point of World War IIs Pacific War. Honored attendees of the event included two veterans of the battle, U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Ed Fox, and U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Julian Hodges. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service partnered with the U.S. Navy, The Texas Childrens Choir, Department of Veterans Affairs, American Battle Monuments Commission, and the Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge to make the ceremony possible.
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030206-F-8708H-013. Base: Moffett Federal Air Field State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)
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Flowers On The National September 11 Memorial (9/11 Memorial) Monument With Engraved Names Of Over 3.000 Victims Killed In The Attacks On Twin Towers On September 11, 2001 In New York City, New York State, United State, Usa
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Israel, Negev, Sde Boker, Ben Gurion Burial Memorial
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Foreign Affairs Day 2005 ceremonies, speeches, award presentations. Events included a ceremony at the American Foreign Service Association's (AFSA) Memorial Plaque, in the Harry S. Truman Building's C Street Lobby, honoring foreign service officers who died in the line of duty. AFSA President John Limbert, Under Secretary for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns, and other officials delivered remarks, as three new entries on the plaque the names of James Mollen and Edward Seitz, of U.S. Embassy Baghdad, and John O'Grady, of U.S. Consulate in Brisbane were unveiled.
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A disposition board for Marine casualties is kept up to date as they arrive from Beirut, Lebanon, where a terrorist bomb destroyed the Marine barracks and headquarters building. Base: Rhein-Main Air Base Country: Deutschland / Germany (DEU)
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Vice President Mike Pence observes the grave marker of Virgil "Gus" Grissom from Apollo 1, after a wreath laying ceremony that was part of NASA's Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Wreaths were laid in memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration.
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Veterans from an honor flight participate in the first Flowers of Remembrance Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., May 28, 2022. Visitors were given the opportunity to cross the plaza and place a flower in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This event pays homage to the first official Decoration Day, now known as Memorial Day, which originally took place at the cemetery in 1868 as a way to honor the sacrifices of those who fought and died in the Civil War.
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Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III participates in a wreath laying ceremony with Czech Minister of Defense Jana Cernochova at Saints Cyril & Methodius Catherdral in Prague, Czech Republic, Sept. 9, 2022. Austin is visiting the NATO ally after hosting the Ukraine Defense Contact Group with other NATO and international counterparts at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. This is the the fifth such meeting of defense leaders from around the world since Russias unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. (DoD photo by Chad J. McNeeley)
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Markers at the temporary memorial, near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, honoring the passengers and crew of Flight 93, hijacked on September 11, 2001. Secretary Gale Norton visited the site to swear in the members of the Flight 93 National Memorial Federal Advisory Commission
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HAKODATE, Japan (Oct. 8, 2022) Flowers sit at the foot of a U.S. Navy Sailors tombstone at Hakodate Foreign General Cemetary after Sailors assigned to Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) helped clean and lay flowers during a community relations event, Oct. 8. Benfold is assigned to Commander, Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navys largest forward-deployed DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleets principal surface force.
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Veterans Day ceremony and aftermath at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C., where Secretary Dirk Kempthorne delivered the opening remarks, and joined participating dignitaries including the former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell, along with Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Founder and President Jan Scruggs, Vietnam Women's Memorial Foundation Founder and President Diane Carlson Evans, Mary "Edie" Meeks of the Vietnam Women's Memorial Foundation, William Hansen of Lockheed Martin, and William Murdy of Comfort Systems. Ceremony, co-hosted by the Memorial Fund and the National Park Service, highlighted the 25th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
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030326-M-0857S-018. Base: Yuma State: Arizona (AZ) Country: United States Of America (USA)
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6-Year-Old Boy Reading A World War 2 Tombstone Paris. France.
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Funeral at Evreux graveyard, France during COVID-19 epidemic.
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WOMAN'S reflection in the VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL known as THE WALL listing the dead of the VIETNAM WAR - WASHINGTON DC, USA
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National Park Service Northeast Region head Mary Bomar, Secretary Gale Norton, Park Service Deputy Director Don Murphy, Park Service Director Fran Mainella, left to right, visiting the African Burial Ground in New York City, New York, on day of announcement of National Monument status for the Ground
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The newly refurbished 9/11 memorial monument sits outside of the chapel at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, Sept. 11, 2022. Service members and civilians honored the memory and sacrifice of 9/11 victims as part of a memorial service at the base chapel. The ceremony also commemorated the 20th anniversary of the chapels rededication to Operation Enduring Freedom and 60th year of operations within its current building.
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A view of a new memorial to fallen Wisconsin State Patrol troopers is shown Sept. 16, 2022, at Fort McCoy, Wis., at the Wisconsin State Patrol Academy. The new memorial was dedicated Sept. 9, 2022, by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The academy is a tenant organization at Fort McCoy.
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Foreign Affairs Day 2005 ceremonies, speeches, award presentations. Events included a ceremony at the American Foreign Service Association's (AFSA) Memorial Plaque, in the Harry S. Truman Building's C Street Lobby, honoring foreign service officers who died in the line of duty. AFSA President John Limbert, Under Secretary for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns, and other officials delivered remarks, as three new entries on the plaque the names of James Mollen and Edward Seitz, of U.S. Embassy Baghdad, and John O'Grady, of U.S. Consulate in Brisbane were unveiled.
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Vietnam Veterans from the San Diego area participated in Honor Flight San Diego on 4 November 2022 for a quick trip to Washington DC and a visit to the memorials. A few California National Guardsman volunteered to help. Sgt. Sean Arroyo, a 92A with 315th Engineers VCC joins his grandfather, Bob Martinez an Aviation Crew Chief from the 57th Aviation Company.
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REAM, Cambodia (Oct. 22, 2012) Rear Adm. Tom Carney, commander of Task Force 73, pays respect for the late Royal Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk before visiting the Ream Navy Base during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Cambodia 2012. CARAT is a series of bilateral military exercises between the U.S. Navy and the armed forces of Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Timor Leste. The U.S. Navy has a 237-year heritage of defending freedom and projecting and protecting U.S. interests around the globe. Join the conversation on social media using #warfighting.
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Senior Enlisted Advisor Tony L. Whitehead, the senior enlisted advisor to the chief, National Guard Bureau, visits the Asan Bay Overlook historical site in Guam with Command Sgt. Maj. Ceslo Leonen, the command senior enlisted leader for the Guam National Guard May 21, 2022.
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The stone in honor of Manrico Ducceschi also known as "Pippo" who received, from the United Stated, the bronze star medal for heroic actions and the aid he supplied to the Anglo-American Forces by hampering German military operations in Italy during the WWII, Pian di Novello, Italy, July 31, 2022.
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050711-N-3207B-013. Base: Honolulu State: Hawaii (HI) Country: United States Of America (USA)
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Hungary. Budapest. Kossuth Lajos Ter (square of the Parlamient). Anniversary of the Revolt of October 23th 1956.
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HAKODATE, Japan (Oct. 8, 2022) Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) Command Master Chief Andrew Thomasson and Cmdr. Marcus Seeger, commanding officer of Benfold, lay flowers at the graves of two U.S. Navy Sailors buried at Hakodate Foreign General Cemetery during a community relations event in Hakodate, Japan, Oct. 8. Benfold is assigned to Commander, Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navys largest forward-deployed DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleets principal surface force.
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HAKODATE, Japan (Oct. 8, 2022) Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) Command Master Chief Andrew Thomasson and Cmdr. Marcus Seeger, commanding officer of Benfold, lay flowers at the graves of two U.S. Navy Sailors buried at Hakodate Foreign General Cemetery during a community relations event in Hakodate, Japan, Oct. 8. Benfold is assigned to Commander, Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navys largest forward-deployed DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleets principal surface force.
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From left to right, Caroline Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador to Australia and daughter of John F. Kennedy, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman, and Charge d' Affairs Russell Comeau lay a wreath on behalf of the government of the United States during the anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal at the Guadalcanal American Memorial in the Solomon Islands, Aug. 7, 2022. The ceremony commemorated the 80th anniversary of the battle, and served to honor the fallen and strengthen the U.S. relationship with the Solomon Islands and other Pacific allies and partners. The historic battle was codenamed Operation Watchtower and was the first major offensive and decisive victory for the allied forces in the Pacific theater.
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Kuwait Army Brig. Gen. Mohammed Turk Al-Mutairi lays a wreath during a Memorial Day ceremony at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, May 30, 2022. Memorial Day commemorates servicemembers who paid the ultimate sacrifice while in service to their nation.
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jsc2020e016869 - Along the Walk of the Cosmonauts at the Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Expedition 63 crewmember Chris Cassidy of NASA lays flowers March 27 at the site where the tree bearing the name of Yuri Gagarin, the first human to fly in space, is planted. March 27, 2020 marked the 52nd anniversary of Gagarins death at the age of 34. Looking on are cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, the Deputy Director of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, and Cassidys crewmates, Ivan Vagner and Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos. Cassidy, Vagner and Ivanishin will launch April 9 on the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station...Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.
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060821-N-6214F-001. Base: USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7)
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Pacific Islands Tour: Visit of Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and aides to Guam, U.S. Territory
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4th Infantry Division Vietnam veterans attending the 2022 National Reunion enter the National World War 1 (WWI) Museum and Memorial during a tour of Kansas City, Missouri, July 27, 2022. The National 4th Inf. (IVY) Div. Association has been supporting the Veterans, Soldiers and friends of the 4th Inf. Div. since 1919.
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Anefo photo collection. Flight disaster on Tenerife with a KLM device. Flags half-mast for the KLM headquarters in Amstelveen. March 28, 1977. Amstelveen, Noord-Holland
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ASTRONAUT MEMORIAL - DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
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Bicycle infantry, Cyclisten, Cyclists monument commemorating the Battle of the Silver Helmets, Slag der Zilveren Helmen, Halen, Limburg, Belgium, Europe
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