| Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial | |
|---|---|
| American Battle Monuments Commission | |
 | |
| For Operation Overlord | |
| Unveiled | July 19, 1956 |
| Location | 49°21′36″N 0°51′27″W / 49.3600°N 0.8575°W near Colleville-sur-Mer, France |
| Designed by | Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson Markley Stevenson (landscaping) Donald De Lue (sculptor) Leon Kroll (murals) Robert Foster (maps) |
| Total burials | 9,388 |
Unknowns | 307 |
| Commemorated | 1,557 |
| Burials by nation | |
* United States: 9,388 | |
| Burials by war | |
* World War II: 9,387
| |
| Statistics source: American Battle Monuments Commission | |
The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial (French: Cimetière américain de Colleville-sur-Mer) is a World War II cemetery and memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, that honors American troops who died in Europe during World War II. It is located on the site of the former temporary battlefield cemetery of Saint Laurent, covers 172.5 acres and contains 9,388 gravesites.[1]
A memorial in the cemetery includes maps and details of the Normandy landings and military operations that followed. At the memorial's center is Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves, a bronze statue. The cemetery also includes two flag poles where, at different times, people gather to watch the American flags being lowered and folded.
The cemetery, which was dedicated in 1956, is the most visited cemetery of those maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), with one million visitors a year. In 2007, the ABMC opened a visitor center at the cemetery, relating the global significance and meaning of Operation Overlord.[2]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
NOAC-Burialswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "New Normandy American Cemetery Visitor Center Opens". American Battle Monuments Commission. June 6, 2007. Archived from the original on October 12, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2018.