American Cemetary

There are 1577 names inscribed in the outside of the entry to this cemetery of soldiers whose bodies were never found. (9 of the names have dot behind them to indicate that they were later identified as someone already buried here.) There are 149 headstones without a name, saying “here lies a soldier known only to God.” There are 9387 graves in total. There are 3 medal of honor winners…their grave stones are marked by gold print on the lettering. (One of my photos shows this.) To be buried here you had to: a) have been an American citizen, b) been in the armed services, and c) died in battle at Normandy or died later from wounds imposed at Normandy.

The US government offered to families of all killed in WWII to have the bodies returned to the US at government expense if the family desired. The US still does this, and we are the only country who does. 61% of the families selected to have the remains returned to the US, so that puts the 9,000 number into perspective. The cemetery could have been 2-1/2 times as big.

The atmosphere in this cemetery was dramatically different from the German cemetery. The precision is remarkable. I won’t say more…just look at the photos.