Posted on 05/26/2007 1:06:12 AM PDT by Republicain
COLLEVILLE SUR MER, France, May 25, 2007 (AFP) - The sacrifice of thousands of US soldiers who died in the D-Day landings are honoured in a new visitors' centre opening Saturday at the Colleville sur Mer cemetery in northern France.
Situated on a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach, one of the landing points of the June 6, 1944 allied invasion, the centre traces the story of US soldiers who stormed the Normandy beaches to end the Nazi occupation of Europe.
"We simply wanted to tell future generations what happened here," said Daniel Neese, director of the visitors' centre.
The exhibits pay homage to the men and boys who took part in the landings, using a mix of narrative text, photographs, films, interactive displays and artefacts.
Built at a cost of 30 million dollars (22 million euros), the centre will welcome more than one million visitors who come to the Normandy American Cemetery each year to pay their respects to the 9,387 Americans buried there.
It will be formally inaugurated on June 6 to mark the 63rd anniversary of the D-Day landings.
I was at the cemetary last summer, and although the indoor visitor center was kind of lame, I thought the self-directed nature of the whole complex was very nice and solemn. I don’t see a huge need for a museum on the grounds, but since Omaha Beach doesn’t have a central museum to my knowledge, if this is going to be a good one then I say party on.
Les citoyens en Basse-Normandie se souviennent encore et ils honorent des Américains, des Canadiens, et des Angleterriens qui ont donné tout en 6 juin, 1944, pour libérer la France. This time of year, Bayou is where I would like to be.
I loved it over there too. The D-Day beaches were so moving. We had French people come up to us — ‘Are you Americans? Thank you for saving us.’ And the Bayeux Tapestry, so amazing. I would like to be there, too, on June 6.
Thanks for the spelling correction.
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