Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, Calvados, is the burial ground of 9,389 American service members, most of them killed in the D-Day landings of 6 June 1944 and the fighting that followed. It stands on the bluff above the eastern part of Omaha Beach and suits anyone following the D-Day sites, families of veterans and students of the Second World War.

From St. Laurent Cemetery in 1944 to the 1947 agreement

The cemetery occupies the ground of the temporary St. Laurent Cemetery, established on 8 June 1944, the first American cemetery on European soil in the Second World War. Under an agreement signed in Paris on 1 October 1947, France granted the United States use of the land for an unlimited period, free of charge and tax, for as long as the United States maintains it. The land remains French property, and the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) runs the site. The memorial was dedicated on 19 July 1956.

Headstones, colonnade and maps on the bluff

The cemetery covers 172.5 acres. Each grave carries a white marble headstone, a Latin cross or a Star of David, set in long straight rows. A semicircular colonnade forms the memorial, with loggias holding large maps and accounts of the military operations. At its centre stands a 22-foot bronze statue by Donald De Lue, The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves. A reflecting pool, granite statues representing the United States and France, and an orientation table over the beach complete the memorial area.

Behind the colonnade, the Garden of the Missing lists 1,557 names, and a bronze rosette marks those whose remains were later found and identified. The circular chapel has a mosaic ceiling by Leon Kroll, completed in 1953. A time capsule sealed in 1969 is due to be opened on 6 June 2044. Three Medal of Honor recipients are buried here, among them Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr.; beside him lies his brother Quentin, killed in the First World War and reburied here in 1955.

Start at the visitor center by the Garden of the Missing

The visitor center, dedicated on 6 June 2007, stands in woodland about 100 metres east of the Garden of the Missing. It explains Operation Overlord through the stories of individual soldiers. Start here, then walk out to the graves. Guided tours run in summer.

UNESCO listing in 2026 and a million visitors a year

Since July 2026 the beach below and the other landing sectors have been on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "The D-Day Landing Beaches, Normandy, 1944". About one million people visit each year, making it the ABMC's most visited cemetery.