Colleville Cemetery History

9386 tomb stones in a perfect alignment, turned towards the West, the United States. Daniel Neese, Colleville-Sur-Mer Cemetery superintendent, is watching over the dead.

In 1951, the crosses were made of wood, 7 years earlier; the dead were quickly buried at the foot of the cliffs. Just after the war, 10 provisional cemeteries were located in Basse-Normandy. In 1947, 2 sites were selected as a final resting place for these soldiers in Saint James and in Colleville. Thousands of bodies were gathered some have not been identified yet.

From 1947 to 1954, the repatriation of thousands bodies was organized at the request of families. Some choose to leave their sons or their brothers to rest in Normandy.

Inaugurated 2 years later on July 18, 1956, the American Cemetery of Normandy is a perpetual concession from the French government to the United States.

Of all Normandy cemeteries, Colleville-Sur-Mer, overlooking “Bloody” Omaha Beach, is undoubtedly the most impressive. A garden of silence, dedicated to honor heroes killed in the fury of the war.