Normandy Trip… American Cemetery

Each of the 9,387 brilliantly white-marble crosses (or Stars of David)  have their name, home state and date of death inscribed on each.  “Immediately after the war, all the dead were buried in temporary cemeteries.  In the mid 1950’s, the families of the soldiers decided whether their loved ones should remain with their comrades or be brought home (61 percent opted for repatriation).  Officers (including General Theodore Roosevelt Jr.) were disproportionately left here.  Their families knew they’d want to be buried alongside the men with whom they fought and died.  two of the Niland brothers, now famous from saving private Ryan, are buried here.”

Just the sheer number of crosses was stirring.  Fields and fields of crosses.

This is the semicircular Garden of the Missing, with the names of 1,557 soldiers who were never found.  From this platform we heard a bugle playing Taps several times.  It was neat.

View of the Omaha Beach and the ‘eye of the D-Day storm’.