(A schedule of some of the Memorial Day weekend events around Europe can be found at the end of the story)

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany — The roar of jets flying in missing-man formation will break the silence at Memorial Day ceremonies this weekend where American troops are buried in Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

To pull off the solemn tribute, dozens of airmen from Spangdahlem Air Base are volunteering their time over the holiday weekend to participate in seven flyovers of the foreign cemeteries. The cemeteries contain the remains of U.S. troops from World War I and World War II.

While attending the Air Force Academy, 1st Lt. David Kirkendall, with the 81st Fighter Squadron, saw many formation flyovers. He remembers the feelings the flyovers stirred in him and hopes to pass that along during his flight Saturday.

“Sitting on the ground and having jets fly over in formation, it hits you right in your gut,” said Kirkendall, 24, who flies an A-10 Thunderbolt II. “I know what it does for me on the ground, and I hope can do that for other people watching the flyover.”

Those felled in combat are generally remembered by the broader public in terms of numbers. But of the approximately 30,000 American graves the pilots will fly over on Saturday and Sunday, one name resonates across the masses. Gen. George S. Patton, who died in a traffic accident following the end of World War II, rests at a cemetery in Hamm, Luxembourg. The Hamm cemetery also contains the graves of more than 5,000 U.S. servicemembers killed in WWII.

Kirkendall is scheduled to be part of the A-10 Warthog formation to fly over the Luxembourg cemetery Saturday.

“I’m just going to try and stay in formation,” he said. “I really wish I could look down and see the cemetery, but mostly we’re going to be concentrating on looking good — not only for the people at the ceremony, but for the people we’re celebrating.”

The Air Force flyovers are an annual Memorial Day Weekend event to honor American veterans. All of the flyovers will be performed in the missing-man formation in which one of the four jets in the group pulls away, symbolizing a missing troop. This weekend, the missing-man formation symbolizes American servicemembers killed in action.

Kelso Kloss, a retired Air Force chief master sergeant who served in Korea and Vietnam, said Memorial Day remembrances at European cemeteries are not only for veterans but also for the stateside family members of the fallen.

“When they hear there was a ceremony in Hamm and their son or their husband is buried there, then they get the feeling that the price maybe wasn’t too high,” he said. “Although it is high — a life.”

Even though the pilots become the center of attention during the flyovers, maintenance workers are the ones responsible for making sure the jets are ready for the mission.

Staff Sgt. Matthew Coffman, a maintenance unit crew chief with the 81st Fighter Squadron, knows his work to prepare the aircraft is appreciated by everyone.

“Coming from somebody in the States, another American, it’s one thing to hear, ‘Thanks for doing what you’re doing,’” he said. “But to have people from other countries, from Europe, who sometimes you don’t get the idea they generally like us — when we do get that appreciation, it makes you feel better about what you’re doing.”

In addition to the three A-10 flyovers, Spangdahlem-based F-16s will perform four flyovers. Capt. Jay Sabia, with the 23rd Fighter Squadron, volunteered to spend his 32nd birthday on Sunday participating in two flyovers.

“I think it’s appropriate to continue to remember the people who fought bravely and died for their country,” he said. “It’s also important to not just remember the people, but the cause they fought for.”

Weekend events

A look at some of the Memorial Day events around Europe:

Saturday

10 a.m.: Ardennes American Cemetery, southeast of Neupre (Neuville-en-Condroz), Belgium, 12 miles southwest of Liege, France

2 p.m.: Luxembourg American Cemetery, three miles east of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

4 p.m.: Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, two miles northwest of Henri-Chapelle village, 18 miles from Liège, Belgium

Sunday

9:45 a.m.: Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, near Chateau-Thierry, Belleau, Aisne, France

10 a.m.: Rhone American Cemetery, near Cannes, Draguignan, France

10:30 a.m.: Normandy American Cemetery, near Omaha Beach in Colleville-Sur-Mer, France

11 a.m.: American Cathedral in Paris

11 a.m.: Lorraine American Cemetery, St. Avold, Moselle, France

2:30 p.m.: Suresnes American Cemetery, five miles west of Paris

3 p.m.: Flanders Field American Cemetery, Waregem, Belgium

3 p.m.: Brockwood American Cemetery, six miles north of Guildford, Brockwood, Surrey, England

3 p.m.: Vosges Ceremony, Epinal American Cemetery, Epinal, France

3 p.m.: Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, east of village of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon (Meuse), 26 miles northwest of Verdun, France

3 p.m.: Somme American Cemetery, Bony, Aisne, France

3 p.m.: Margraten Ceremony, Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, six miles east of Maastricht, Netherlands

4 p.m.: Brittany American Cemetery, 1.5 miles southeast of St. James (Marche), 12 miles south of Avranches, France

4 p.m.: Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, 1.5 miles east of Fere-en-Tardenois (Aisne), 14 miles northeast of Chateau-Thierry, France

4 p.m.: Meurthe et Moselle Ceremony, St. Mihiel American Cemetery, Thiaucourt, France

Monday

11 a.m.: Cambridge American Cemetery, three miles west of Cambridge, England

11 a.m.: Florence American Cemetery, Via Cassia, 7.5 miles south of Florence, Italy

11 a.m.: Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, 30 miles south of Rome, Italy

For more details about these cemeteries and their Memorial Day activities, visit the American Battle Monuments Commission Web site: http://www.abmc.gov

Flyover schedule

Belgium

Neuville: 10 a.m. Saturday (A-10)

Henri Chapelle: 4 p.m. Saturday (A-10)

Waregem: 3 p.m. Sunday (F-16CJ)

France

Epinal: 3 p.m. Sunday (F-16CJ)

St. Mihiel: 4 p.m. Sunday (F-16CJ)

Luxembourg

Hamm: 2 p.m. Saturday (A-10)

The Netherlands

Margraten: 4:30 p.m. Sunday (F-16CJ)