In the left rear of the church courtyard against the back wall.

A steel cross mounted to a marble inscribed base, about 9 feet tall; it was formerly a marble crucifix, but was replaced by the steel cross in 2020.

The cenotaph remembers the Medial Doctor Captain Gordon Fischer, who fell while liberating the village of Neerharen, Belgium on September 16, 1944.

Captain Fischer was born on June 10, 1912 and was from the Detroit,  Michigan area. He graduated University of Michigan Medical School in 1942 and was assigned to the US Army Medical Corps. 

Captain Fischer served with the 609^th Medial Clearing Company of the First Army.  In mid-September 1944, the First Army , XIX Corps had established a bridgehead across the Meuse River along the Belgian-Dutch border.  The 2^nd Armored Division was assigned the mission to clear the enemy forces still west of the river.  Combat Command A, 2^nd Armored Division (Task Force Stokes), which included the 99^th Infantry Battalion (Sep) (Norwegian), was given the mission to clear the area around and to establish a bridgehead across the Vaart Canal; this battle is know as the "Canal Drive".  Captain Fischer was attached to the 99^th Medical Detachment during this effort. Captain Fischer was killed in an Artillery barrage on September 16, 1944 during this mission. 

In a letter to Fischer’s wife, the Adjutant of the 99^th Battalion (Sep) wrote:

“The following day sympathetic Belgium citizens having heard of the tragic death of Captain Fischer, placed bouquets of flowers over the ground where he met his death. To my knowledge Captain Fischer was the first and only American to lose his life in Neerharen. The civilian population was deeply grieved and made immediate plans to hold a memorial service for Captain Fischer. I believe it is out of a feeling of deep gratitude to the American Nation for the liberation of Belgium that this memorial at Neerharen is being erected in honor of an American officer who laid down his life for this great cause.”

Special Thanks to the 99^th Infantry Battalion (Sep) Foundation for assistance with this memorial.  Find out more about the Foundation at: https://99battalion.org  and on Facebook.

The text on the memorial reads:

G.F. FISCHER

NEERHAREN 9-16-1944