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The World War II Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial honors American soldiers who died during operations in Europe during World War II, including Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
History
The cemetery is located on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944, the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II.
Location
The cemetery is situated on a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach and the English Channel in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. It is just east of Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer and northwest of Bayeux, about one hundred and seventy miles west of Paris.
Description
The cemetery covers one hundred and seventy two acres. It contains the graves of 9,386 American military Dead, most of whom gave their lives during the landings and ensuing operations of World War II. On the walls of the semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial are inscribed the names of 1,557 American Missing who gave their lives in the service of their country, but whose remains were not located or identified.
Miscellaneous
The cemetery is briefly featured at the beginning of Steven Spielberg's 1998 film Saving Private Ryan, as a much older Private James Ryan, accompanied by his family, makes his way to the grave of Capt. John Miller (played by Tom Hanks) and segues into that movie's defining scene, the D-Day landing at Omaha Beach.
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