Leading up to Veterans Day, Nov. 11, take a moment to remember men and women who served

On Aug. 15, 1944, Andrew Perry, of the Choctaw Nation, landed on the southern coast of France. The 24-year-old U.S. Army private had entered the military from Oklahoma and became one of the famed Native American Code Talkers who served as radio operators to confound the enemy. Perry previously participated in campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Normandy on D-Day. Though, tragically, five days into his latest landing, he was killed in a battle with a German tank division.

For nearly 80 years, Perry has laid at rest in Rhone American Cemetery in France, overseen by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). The burial grounds hold the graves of 851 Americans who lost their lives liberating the country’s south. Today, pristine white headstones, aligned around an oval pool, mark each service member’s grave equally, without regard for rank, race or religion.

Though so many treaties signed with Native American tribes were ultimately broken by the U.S. government, young men and women of the Choctaw, Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho and numerous other tribes remained fiercely patriotic and protective of their heritage, their land and our American freedom. Like Perry, thousands have stepped forward in times of war, and continue to do so today.

Recently, Debbie Cheshewalla, Perry’s niece, traveled from Oklahoma to visit her uncle’s grave. Walking the cemetery grounds, she recounted her mother’s reaction to the powerful scene. With an emotional gasp, her mother would say, “Wow, all this for Andrew. Look at this place!”

American military cemeteries were first established overseas after World War I, when Americans died in such high numbers that the nation could not manage or afford to bring them all home. With their loved ones’ permission, nearly 30,000 of the fallen were laid to rest in permanent burial grounds, on the continent for which they gave their lives. The practice continued in the aftermath of World War II, when Americans were once again called to serve in historic numbers.

The federal government established the American Battle Monuments Commission in 1923 to serve as the caretaker of these sites. One hundred years later, the commission now oversees 32 federal memorials and 26 burial grounds on five continents. Together, they hold more than 123,000 graves. While many of the sites are thousands of miles from our own shores, the commission takes no less care to ensure they are reverent tributes to America’s fallen.

For Cheshewalla, our nation’s commitment to that promise is personal. Together, she and her daughter, Liz, have vowed to carry Perry’s story forward to new generations.

However, the responsibility of remembering those who fought and died in service to America should not fall on families alone, but on all of us as a nation. In commemoration of the American Battle Monuments Commission's centennial anniversary, the commission is encouraging every American to make an act of remembrance.

Our sites are open year-round and help visitors truly understand the weight of sacrifice made by individuals like Perry. Those who cannot travel can still explore the sites at ABMC.gov, which features a newly launched 360-degree virtual experience. The commission also produced a documentary on its first 100 years, featuring Perry’s story, which is viewable for free online, and Americans are encouraged to research their own family connections to those we honor through our digital burial registry.

If every American will pledge to take one simple act in honor of fallen patriots, including Pvt. Andrew Perry, we can ensure our nation continues to uphold the words of ABMC’s first chairman, Gen. John J. Pershing, when he promised, “Time will not dim the glory of their deeds.”

Darrell L. Dorgan is a presidentially appointed commissioner of the American Battle Monuments Commission.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Manry American soldiers who died in wars buried in overseas cemeteries