With a view on Omaha Beach,one of the main landing sites of the D-Day invasion on 6 June 1944, and the English Channel from which they came, 9.388 white crosses and stars look out from their final resting place on this American War Cemetery. Most of those buried there died in the landings or in the fighting that followed.
The 70 acres large cemetery is well cared for and although it is a place to remember us of the sacrifice of life for a terrible war, the surrounding colors are white, green and light, and seem to share a message of hope. A big contrast with the small black stones marking the graves of the German War Cemetery of La Cambe nearby.
The cemetery is maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). Rows of white marble Latin crosses and Stars of David face west toward the United States. A central memorial features a statue titled “The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves”, along with maps and inscriptions explaining the Normandy landings.
Adjacent to the cemetery is the Garden of the Missing, which lists the names of 1,557 soldiers whose remains were never recovered.
You can walk down to the beach or like us be in time to see the ceremony to lower the Stars and Stripes. And yes, this is the cemetery from the movie “Saving Private Ryan”.
Visit
You can visit the cemetery during opening hours, a free car park is nearby.
