In Honor of Our Veterans: Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France-- Part 1

Former U.S. General Colin Powell said, "We have gone forth from our shores repeatedly over the last hundred years...and put wonderful men and women at risk, many of whom have lost their lives, and we have asked for nothing except enough ground to bury them in."

The Normandy American Cemetery and memorial in France is the embodiment of this quote.  It is located on the site of the American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Ar,y on June 8, 1944, the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II.

According to the American Battle Monuments Commission, a federal agency and guardian of America's overseas commemorative cemeteries and memorials, the cemetery site is 172.5 acres and contains the graves of 9,387 American dead, most of whom lost their lives on the D-Day landings and subsequent operations.

--GreGen