Today we continue our series about World War Two memorials as we look at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France. HiTech Creations, the makers of Aces High, is proud to highlight these memorials as a way of giving a lasting tribute to those who have fallen in the support of freedom worldwide.
The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Collerville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, and it honors American troops who died during World War 2. It was first established on June 8 1944, as a temporary cemetery, and it was the first American cemetery on European soil in World War 2. After the war ended the temporary cemetery was moved a short distance to its current location.
The memorial is financed by the United States Congress with bills passed periodically, and the cemetery is on land that has been permanently granted to the United States by the nation of France. It also is maintained by the U.S. government. It sits on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach, one of the landing sites during the Invasion of Normandy, and it also has a view of the English Channel. Over its 172 acres lie 9,387 Americans, most of whom were killed during the Invasion of Normandy.
The families of the military dead had the choice of burying their loved ones in this cemetery overseas or in a cemetery stateside. There is a semicircular garden at the east side of the memorial, and there the names of 1,557 Americans who lost their lives but were never located are carved. There is a 22-foot bronze statue entitled “The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves” at the center of this garden, and there is also a reflecting pool. All the gravesites are marked by a single white cross, and there is also a chapel. The memorial faces the United States on a straight line from France to Lubec, Maine. There is also a time capsule buried at the memorial and that capsule is to be opened on June 6, 2044, one hundred years after the Normandy landings.
The cemetery was featured in the film “The Omen” as well as “Saving Private Ryan.
If you ever have the chance to visit France, we strongly recommend a trip to Normandy to see this stirring and emotional war site.
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