Page "Bitburg" Paragraph 10

On 11 April 1985, then White House press secretary Larry Speakes informed the media of the planned visit to Bitburg.

When asked who was buried at Kolmeshöhe, Speakes said he thought both American and German soldiers were there.

Reporters soon discovered that no American servicemen were in the cemetery ( in fact, the remains of all U. S. soldiers had long since been removed from German soil ) and that Waffen-SS graves were located close to the proposed ceremony.

When questioned, Bitburg Mayor Theo Hallet pointed out, all German military cemeteries were likely to contain at least a few SS graves.

Such distinctions, though, failed to placate those who were opposed to Reagan's visit on moral and political grounds.

Decorations and memorials on the Waffen-SS graves were removed just prior to Reagan's visit, and replaced right after.