Sobering
 

Touring round France on holiday I happened to be near the American cemetery in Brittany today. It is the final resting place of over 4,400 US servicemen, the vast majority having died in August 1944 as the combined allied forces fought outward from the D-Day landings.

The cemetery is meticulously cared for, and, for me at least, instills a sense of sober reflection in visitors. I am Scottish and have no ties to the USA, but I know the are some regulars here who have served and for whom this might be of interest. I hope that the sacrifices of that generation are never forgotten.

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Is there names on the crosses?

There are, yes. Names, rank, posting and date of death. Several are anonymous, for those who could not be identified. There's also a wall engraved with the names of the missing.

Yes, the memories are sobering.

- Glenn

I served for over 20 years and every time I see one of these cemeteries all I can think of is this.

The people who start wars never have to fight in them, and the people who send our sons and daughters to fight won't send theirs.

Let that sink in.

In my hometown their is a public cemetery with two headstones that always jump out at me from WWI. Their dates of death was both within 2 days of the armistice.

I also find that the people who still care about this are mostly people from Europe. Here most of them couldn't give a crap.

Great gobs of politicians and movie stars and baseball players and everyone
signed up for WWII... I guess it depends upon the war...

-Mike

My father, the WWII historian, took us all there when I was about 12. Sobering is right. It's hard to wrap one's head around the sacrifices of that generation. A different world that the one we live in now.

What's really weird is how different the German cemeteries in that area are. They contrast the clean, white, perfectly manicured cemeteries of the allies with a darker, rougher aesthetic.

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Seeing this is a stark reminder of the selflessness of the generations that understood how costly freedom is. I shudder to think of what would happen should this generation be called upon to do the same.

Truly the greatest generation. My father quit high school at 17 and signed up right after Pearl Harbor, a day or two after. Spent the next 4 yrs in the Pacific and then 2 yrs in Korea. He wasnt alone, I am sure most of the kids that went were the same situation.It never really hit me til my son was 17. Made me think, my father wasnt that young when he was 17. We will never see another generation like them. God bless them all.

I think the issue is rather whether our nation would have the vision and strength call on that generation to make such a sacrifice. It's not the kids or the soldiers who concern me.

Thank you. As a Vietnam combat vet, I couldn't have said it better. By the way, thank you for YOUR service.

Tony

Thank you for posting. We will visit these areas in October and I'm looking forward to paying my respects.
Words fail when the enormity of these battles really sinks in, but sobering and somber are certainly ones I'd start with.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man.

Unfortunately a lot of people are fine with that.

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial is sobering, beautiful and hallowed. It has a great view as well. :)