The British, German, and American military cemeteries we visited in Normandy have a powerful silence to them, although each one sets a different mood. I experienced different emotions in each location, probably the result of how each cemetery is organized. The British and the American cemeteries are well put together and honor the known and unknown buried at these locations. The German cemetery, by contrast, feels like the bare minimum for what a cemetery should be, although this was an unintended consequence of delicate negotiations between the victor and the vanquished about how to memorialize German troops. Walking through each cemetery sparked a different emotion about the soldiers and their sacrifice.
The British Cemetery and Memorial are beautiful. The headstones are a bright and vibrant white that allows for clear reading of the information. Each headstone was also unique and personal to each person laid to rest, presenting their biographical information followed by an inscription selected by the family. While some inscriptions are Bible verses, others are very heart-touching and bring tears to the reader’s eye. The family aspect is the number of flowers on each headstone; all the flowers make it an inviting place to pay homage. The cemetery also contained the graves of soldiers from four commonwealth countries, as well as such allied states as Poland and France. It was nice to see that they included other countries that fought for British interests. The nearby war hospital treated all soldiers, which is why there are many different nationalities buried here. There were also a handful of Polish gravesites and a whole section for Germans that the staff care for. The missing-in-action memorial that listed the names of 1,800 troops was very powerful. It was heartwarming to see that even though the mortal remains of these men were never found or identified, they are still remembered.
The German cemetery had a very cold and uninviting appeal. It is nothing but black headstones with engravings depicting the soldier’s name, rank, and dates of birth and death. Each grave contained the remains of two men, an efficiency measure that made it seem like there was limited care for each one. Nothing in this cemetery feels like it was done with love or care for the soldiers. Under restrictions imposed by the Allies, there could be no religious, triumphal, or ideological messages on the headstones or around the cemetery. The last thing that felt off about visiting this site was the huge mound in the middle that had an observation deck on top. Within the mound were around 300 dead, known and unknown. It seemed inappropriate and unsettling to stand atop a towering mass grave of 300 dead Germans.
Like Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., the American Military Cemetery in Colville-sur-Mer is a heart-touching exhibit of care for lost sons and daughters. The entrance is an unbelievable display of the sacrifice our soldiers made. At the exit of the visitor center, there is a rotunda where voices stoically recite the names of every soldier buried on the grounds. The most tear-jerking thing for me was the replica of a soldier’s impromptu grave on Omaha Beach, with a rifle stuck into the sand and topped by a helmet. I also found heartwarming the missing-in-action wall, because there are medallions to the names of those MIAs who subsequently were identified. Knowing crews are still actively identifying Americans causes a wonderful feeling. It is breathtaking to see evidence of an effort to make making every headstone perfect and every burial plot perfect. The uniformity, brightness, and cleanliness of the grounds provide a triumphant feeling. The most shocking thing I am still trying to grasp is that this cemetery, with its 9,300 graves, contains only about 20 percent of the Normandy campaign deaths.
I was holding tears back on all three visits. These stories are humbling and inspiring of what anyone can amount to be. I can only hope when a situation arises, I can have a fraction of the courage these men had.