Hakim came to pick us up at 8am and 3 hours later, we were in Normandy. We started at the Normandy Cemetery. It was incredibly affecting and amazing to see how many people were therein uniform. A couple were old enough to have served in WWII. Also, there were some historical reenactors. Very strange to see them in 1940s clothing by they weren't past mid-forties themselves.
11 cemeteries in France, 5 for WWI and 6 for WWII
Omaha Beach - has 3 villages on 6 miles
35,000 men landed or tried to land. 4,000 died; 800 on the beach
90% of the 1,000 men of the first wave were unable to join in the rest of the fight
Families were given two years to decide if they wanted to leave the bodies in Normandy or if they wanted their loved ones repatriated to the States. Because the bodies were put in as the families decided, there is no order
Semi-Circle memorial surrounds the Garden of the missing. The statue represents the spirit of the American youth
The circular chapel is in the center of the cemetery which is laid out in the shape of the Latin cross
9,386 buried in this cemetery (40%)
At noon, the clock rang and then chimed out the tune to "America the Beautiful" and the "Panis Angelicus"
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