France Trip 2004

Normandy - American Cemetery

D-Day Beaches | American Cemetery | Pointe du Hoc | Mont St. Michel

After fleeing the Holland America siege in Arromanches, we headed to the American Cemetery which overlooks Omaha Beach. The cemetery contains the graves of 9,386 American soldiers, most of which lost their lives during the D-Day landings and ensuing operations of World War II. The neat rows of crosses on the well kept lawns made for a tranquil setting and allowed us to reflect on the great commitment these soldiers made to the war. While at the cemetery we also walked down the path to Omaha Beach. Once on the beach we could look up and imagine what the soldiers might have seen when landing on the beach. Standing in the soft sand was sad because we knew that so many had died right where we were standing.