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6
Day Tour
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Normandy
American War Cemetery & Memorial
Many of you will
arrive at the Normandy ferry
port of Ouistreham which is where recently a new
memorial
has been placed to remember the people who supported the allies in the 4,000 crafts
that crossed the channel from D-Day until the end of the war.
D-Day until the end of the war 8th May 1945
The World War II
Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial is situated on a cliff overlooking one of the
D Day landing beaches, Omaha Beach,
and the English Channel in Colleville-sur Mer, France. It is just east of St.
Laurent-sur-Mer and north west of Bayeux about one hundred and seventy miles west of
Paris.
The cemetery can be reached
from Paris by car via the A-13 road to Caen, then take N-13 through Bayeux to Formigny,
then following D-517 to St. Laurent-sur-Mer and D-514 to Colleville-sur-Mer.
Alternatively we can arrange to collect you from either an airport of ferry terminal.
A large stone directional
sign designates the cemetery entrance. There is regular rail service between Paris (Gare
St. Lazare) and Bayeux. Travel by rail takes three hours. The cemetery is located
on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S.
First Army on June 8, 1944, the first American cemetery on European soil in World War
II.
The cemetery is at the north
end of its one half mile access road and covers one hundred and seventy two acres. It
contains the graves of 9,386 American military Dead, most of whom gave their lives
during the D Day landings and ensuing operations of World War II.
On the walls of the
semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial are inscribed the names of 1,557
American Missing who gave their lives in the service of their country, but whose
remains were not located or identified. The memorial consists of a semicircular
colonnade with a loggia at each end containing maps and narratives of the military
operations.
At the centre is a bronze
statue titled, "Spirit of American Youth." An orientation table overlooks the beach
and depicts the landings at Normandy. Facing west at the memorial, one sees in the
foreground the reflecting pool, the mall with burial areas to either side and the
circular chapel beyond. Behind the chapel are statues representing the United States
and France.
The cemetery is open daily to
the public from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm except December 25 and January 1. It is open on
host country holidays. When the cemetery is open to the public, a staff member is on
duty in the Visitors’ Building to answer questions and escort relatives to grave and
memorial sites.
Contact us for
tour information starting summer 2005.
Above is an aerial photograph of almost 10,000 graves at the
cemetery, in the background you can see one of the D Day landing beaches, Omaha.
Web Optimisation and Design by
Peter Stuart
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