Normandy American Cemetery

Summary

The video introduces the Normandy American Cemetery, overlooking Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. The cemetery commemorates Americans who died during the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, and in the fighting that followed as Allied forces pushed beyond the beachhead. More than 2,000 Americans died on Normandy’s shores that day.

The cemetery holds the remains of nearly 9,400 servicemen and women who died around Omaha and Utah beaches and during subsequent operations. It is a place of remembrance and historical learning, visited by millions each year.

Notable Features

• Graves and memorials: Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., one of three Medal of Honor recipients buried at the cemetery, rests there. Thirty-eight pairs of brothers are buried side by side.
• The chapel: A ceiling mosaic depicts America blessing her sons as they leave to fight for freedom.
• The memorial statue: The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves, a 22-foot bronze statue, stands in the open arc of the memorial facing the graves.
• The missing: Their names are carved into the garden walls behind the memorial.
• The overlook: A viewpoint north of the memorial helps visitors understand the difficult terrain and intense combat faced during the D-Day landings.

Speakers or Sources

An unidentified narrator provides the information. No other speakers or quoted sources are identified in the subtitles.