| A visit to the American cemetery at Omaha Beach |
| The D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, was the beginning of the end of Nazi control in Europe. This invasion was many years in the making and involved huge numbers of servicemen and women and machines. The costs of the battle were huge and many lost their lives to preserve the life we have today. This American cemetery is located above Omaha Beach. Omaha Beach along with Utah Beach were the focus of American attacks on D-Day. The cemetery is laid out as a rectangle in the form of a Latin cross. Within the cemetery there are the remains of 9,387 servicemen and women. |
| Each individual marker names the person, state of origin, unit, and rank. Three hundred and seven of the graves hold the remains of servicemen who could not be identified. A Star of David marks the graves of Jewish soldiers; the Latin cross marks the grave of all others. There are three Medal of Honor recipients buried in the cemetery, including Teddy Roosevelt Jr. Four women are also buried here. I walked along the rows and found men from all over the United States who had served and died in the battle. |
| The memorial in the middle of the cemetery includes a twenty-two foot tall bronze statue called "The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves". On the interior walls, there is a map showing all of the battle plans for the D-Day invasion. |
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