Normandy American Cemetery — Attraction in Bayeux

Levy Blanchard was a young man with his family from Church Point, La. My friend Paul said his great uncle died as he was buried at Normandy. Paul sent his unit: 183rd FA. That... was all the information I had. I started with 183rd. 183rd FA BN was from Idaho and predates the 183rd formed in 1946 from Colorado. First issue: How does a kid from rural Louisiana end up in the Idaho Unit? Answer: 3rd Amored Division was formed at Fort Polk or Camp Polk. 3rd Armor (General Blood and Guts) (as with many divisions)... was rounded out by National Gaurd Units. So, he joined here in Louisiana and was assigned to this unit. 3rd Amored Division landed on the 28th of June. For the record, Normandy was still active as a campaign till August 44. His date of death was listed as 6 July 1944. Further records search for those sons and daughters who gave their life in WW2 actually reflects DOW 6 July 1944. So, the next question was where the 183rd FA was in Normandy Invasion; nothing came up. I moved to 3rd Armored Division on 6 July; it was the Battle of St. Lo. Some where's between 3 to 6th of July as the initial battle or early skirmishes before the battle....or the actual start of battle, Levy was badly wounded. It's not beyond the pale to think that the (then) extensive medical support was still coming off the sea, but the combat units pushed forward to create the break-out Omar Bradley was pushing for. Perhaps he was tagged expectant and hopefully made comfortable. Ms. Suzanne (?) met us inside and presented his certificate. She took us directly to his marker with a small covered golf cart. The dirt was from the area of Omaha Beach, which was smeared in the name of Levy to highlight his name. I sat through the remainder of the tour through France doing what any soldier who's been in combat does...you just try to imagine every emotion, thoughts, fear, what would I have done, all these questions ruminating inside through the entire trip. The family will have the flags presented to his family and a picture hand drawn by a...

I first visited the American War Cemetery in 2004, although I have vague recollections of visiting when I was a child. In the intervening years the visitor centre has changed and been improved and now it really is a great place to visit, to remember, to learn and to reflect.

The only thing that it's really missing is a small cafe.

I've visited three times in the last four years and still find each visit incredibly interesting and poignant. If you get a chance to join one of the tours around the cemetery then certainly do it, the lady who took us around on our first visit told us the story of an American pilot who was killed in the early days of DD, who was buried in a nearby village, mistaken for a Canadian, but who was then moved to the American Cemetery nearly a decade later when he was eventually identified. The guide recalled the story and history of the pilot's fiance who never married and who visited most years, each time travelling from her home in the states, who sent flowers on his birthday and other important dates and who had continued to visit many times and who visited in 2015 in the weeks before our visit. A true love story.

You can literally spend hours in the visitor centre or simply walking the grounds or just stood overlooking the beaches where so many lost their lives. An inspiring...

On the day we visited, June 23, 2024, we were not allowed to walk among any of the headstones. It was disappointing as that was the primary purpose of the visit.

So I sent an inquiry to the American Battle Monuments Commission asking why all the plots were closed.

Below is a short summary of why the plots were closed and it is helpful when planning your visit.

Typically all the plots are never entirely closed. However, all the plots were closed after the 80th anniversary through June 28th due to the heavy volume of foot traffic, large platforms, and other equipment that damage the lawn. With that said, all the plots are never entirely open so the horticulture crew can maintain the plots.

If you are planning to visit certain headstones, I would reach out to them to verify which areas are open/closed.

Other than that, the grounds are beautiful and the museum was engaging. We were there when they played taps at 5pm which was very moving. The grounds had clean and a large number of bathrooms.

Parking hint: don't park in the grassy area at the beginning since there is a lot more concrete parking near the entrance.

You will have to go through security which was not a problem for us. It appears dogs are not allowed (we did...