“The dead sleep cold in Spain tonight… It is two years now since the Lincoln Battalion held for four and a half months along the heights of the Jarama, and the first American dead have been a part of the earth for a long time now… For our dead are a part of the earth of Spain now and the earth of Spain can never die. Each winter it will seem to die and each spring it will come alive again. Our dead will live with it forever… The dead do not need to rise. They are a part of the earth now and the earth can never be conquered. For the earth endureth forever. It will outlive all systems of tyranny. Those who have entered it honorably, and no men ever entered earth more honorably than those who died in Spain, already have achieved immortality.”
– Ernest Hemingway, On The American Dead In Spain
You can honor the Vets by visiting their graves, collecting GPS coordinates, taking a photo, and leaving mementos such as flags, flowers, a penny, or any other remembrance you choose. Please be sure to check and respect all rules and regulations of the local area and cemetery you visit as well as respect the cultural practices of the individual buried before leaving any objects. Feel free to share the photos and any information you collect with ALBA at [email protected] or visit the ALB Tribute website on Facebook.
Ray Hoff and Nancy Phillips began this project several years ago, inspired by efforts of Canadian Pamela Vivian.
For further information on the project contact [email protected]
You can also utilize the Find a Grave tool here.
Our volunteer database contains information on the gravesites of some of the Vets.
Help us honor the final resting place of those who fought fascism, as they did for their own in Spain.
Photograph: Item 11-0114, Photo Unit # E1493, Grave of Joe Bianca, Lincoln-Washington at Sierra Pandols [sic], August 1938 in the Harry Randall: Fifteenth International Brigade Films and Photographs, ALBA.PHOTO.011.