From the NFRW Armed Services Committee

Operation OVERLOAD was the code name for the long-awaited Allied invasion into France.  American forces had already been fighting in Africa and Italy, as well as in the Pacific.  June 6, 1944, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was supreme commander of the operation that ultimately involved the coordinated efforts of 12 nations.

Surprise was essential.  The Germans believed the attack would happen in the Pas de Calais region as that is the narrowest part of the English Channel.  Adolf Hitler ordered the bulk of his panzer (tank) divisions to that region based on intelligence that alluded to that part of France being the targeted area.  General Patton was “staging” troops and equipment in an area of Great Britain that would suggest they would depart from there; furthermore, the German high command believed General Patton and his tanks would be involved in the invasion.  However, General Patton’s equipment was painted cardboard and his troops were logisticians.

However, the Allies knew the landing on the beaches of Normandy would be challenging as the German army was dug in on the cliffs overlooking the landing beaches.  Airborne troops were dropped behind enemy lines to sabotage railroad lines and blow bridges to keep the Germans from being reinforced in that region.  Hours later, troops in flat bottomed boats started landing on the long, sloping beaches of Normandy.  The American Omaha Beach was the worst as the Germans were heavily fortified above the cliffs.  Americans suffered a loss of 4,700 killed, wounded, or missing; almost 13% of those that came ashore that day.  The invasion into Normandy was a great turning point for the Allies.

America asked for land to bury our dead.  The Normandy American Cemetery is located in Colleville-sur-Mer, on June 8, 1944. According to the WWII History Museum website:  The cemetery site, at the north end of its half mile access road, covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of 9,386 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations.

On the Walls of the Missing, in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial, are inscribed 1,557 names. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.  The cemetery is open to the public daily, except on December 25 and January 1. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from April 1 to September 30, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. the rest of the year. Admission to the cemetery ends 15 minutes before closing time. It is open on host country holidays. When the cemetery is open, staff members are on duty in the visitor center to answer questions and escort relatives to grave and memorial sites.