Postcard - American cemetery

Situated between the communes of Colleville-sur-Mer and Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, the cemetery is oriented east-west, overlooking Omaha Beach and the English Channel along its entire length of approximately 1 km, covering an area of 70 hectares (172.50 acres). 

Officially inaugurated in 1956 with its memorial, the cemetery honors American soldiers who died in the Battle of Normandy during the Second World War, and is one of 25 permanent U.S. burial sites on foreign soil.

Ten blocks, separated by the central aisle into two groups of five, form the space dedicated to the graves where lie the bodies of 9,387 people, including 307 unknowns and four women. Most of these people died on D-Day or in the following weeks in Normandy, mainly in combat. 14,000 remains, initially buried in Normandy, were repatriated to the United States at the request of their loved ones.