Normandy American Cemetery

This was the most important day of the trip for all of us, and the reason why we chose this particular tour. We started the day at D-Day Academy, a privately owned collection of military equipment, vehicles and uniforms. We listened to a one hour lecture about the invasion. Although we fancied ourselves WWII buffs, it was humbling to hear how much we didn't know. After the lecture, we headed to the Normandy American Cemetery. The cemetery was was dedicated in 1956 and receives more than one million visitors each year. It is located on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach and the English Channel. Covering 172 acres - land given permanently to the United States by France in gratitude - it contains the remains of 9,389 American military dead, most of whom were killed during the invasion of Normandy and the ensuing military operations. The cemetery is generally closed to new internments, as it serves as a permanent shrine to those who died during WWII. In June 2018, Julius Pieper was buried next to his twin brother Ludwig, becoming the 9,388 service member buried at the cemetery; in July 2022, 2nd Lt William McGowan became the last person to be buried in Normandy, after his remains were discovered and identified during an excavation in 2019.

The reflecting pool

View of Omaha Beach from the cemetery.

The graves are marked by white marble crosses in perfect formation, as far as the eye can see. The men of the greatest generation.

Grave of Theodore Roosevelt Jr, Medal of Honor recipient. Roosevelt led the first waves of troops ashore at Utah Beach on D Day. He died a month later, from a heart attack, at age 56.

Grave marker of an unknown soldier.

Chapel

The headstones are Lasa marble and are cleaned exclusively by the American Battle Monuments Commission and official French caretakers (as seen here). 

Represents the rising American youth from the waves.

The semi-circular garden walls bear the names of 1,557 service members declared missing in action in Normandy. Most of them were lost at sea, including more than 489 who were lost in the sinking of the SS Leopoldville. Nineteen of the names have a bronze rosette near to their name, some of which can be seen in the photo below, which means that their body was recovered and identified after the cemetery's dedication.