By the First World War Armistice of 1919, America's war dead, substantially fewer than the loss suffered by other nations, numbered more than 75,000. Honoring a promise made in 1918, the War Department agreed to provide a home burial to all who died in its foreign service. Alternatively, Americans could choose to leave their loved ones buried in national cemeteries overseas. The American government turned to its people in search of a compromise on the issue. In place of consensus, widely divergent views prompted a democratic response that supported individual choice, with the result that over 30,000 U.S. bodies were left buried overseas.

The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) assumed control of these cemeteries and promptly established full authority over the commemoration of America's military achievements on behalf of the nation. In this case, no public endorsement was sought from citizens at home...