The landing operation began during the night of the 5th to the 6th of June 1944 when three airborne divisions were dropped on either flank of the front. The paratroops' mission was to capture certain key points: the Merville Battery, the bridge over the Caen canal, roads, locks. A little later, several hundred Rangers managed to capture the fortified position at the Pointe du Hoc, after a particular daring assault. Meanwhile, between 06.30 and 07.30 hours, 135.000 men and roughly 20.000 vehicles were brought in the sea on five landing beaches as planned.

Although the objectives fixed for the evening of D-Day (Caen, Bayeux, Isigny, Carentan), were not achieved, overall the operation was a success. Except at Omaha Beach (Colleville-Saint-Laurent-Vierville) where despite a show of extraordinary courage from the Americans the beachhead for long hung in the balance, casualties were lighter than expected. If then remained to link up the five assaults beaches and face the German counter-attack.

The Caen Memorial was born out of the desire to create a place for reflecting on wars on the basis of the experience of the memorable events that took place in Caen and the region during the summer of 1944.

Far from concentrating solely on commemoration, the Memorial, a museum for Peace, presents the stakes involved in the Second World War, and the course and significance of the war. Broadening the perspective, the Memorial covers the second half of the century, and shows how the end of World War II did not signal the end of violence, of all types of violence.

This cemetery, 172.5 acres in extent, is one of fourteen permanent American World War II cemeteries constructed on foreign soil. The government of France in perpetuity without charge or taxation granted free use as a permanent burial ground.General Layout. The cemetery is rectangular in shape. Its main paths are laid out in the form of a Latin cross.Inside, beyond the Visitors' Building, filling most of the eastern end of the cemetery is a beautiful semicircular memorial with a memorial garden and Tablets of the Missing to its rear. Facing west, the memorial overlooks a large reflecting pool, two flagpoles, from which the American flag flies daily, the graves areas and the chapel.The memorial consists of a semi-circular colonnade with a loggia housing battle maps at each end and its arc forms a large bronze sculpture in the open. The loggias and colonnade are of a limestone from the Côte d'Or region of France, the plinths and steps are of granite from Brittany. Centred in the open arc of the memorial facing toward the graves is a 22-foot bronze statue, "The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves". Inset in the floor directly behind the statue are two curved garden plots. On the interior walls of the loggias are maps engraved in stone and embellished with colored enamels. These maps are entitled: "The Landings on the Normandy Beaches and the Development of the Beachhead", "Air Operations over Normandy March-August 1944","6 June 1944 the Amphibious Assault Landings", and "Military Operations in Western Europe, 6 June 1944 - 8 May 1945". Inset in a rectangular aperture in the east and west walls of each loggias is a large bronze urn on which are sculptured two different scenes in high relief. While the scenes are the same in both loggias, their emplacement is such that the scenes facing into the loggias are different.The chapel in the graves area is constructed of Vaurion limestone. On entering the chapel, one's attention is drawn immediately to the altar of black and gold Pyrenees Grand Antique marble and the inscription I GIVE UNTO THEM ETERNAL LIFE AND THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH, engraved across its front. Behind the altar, a tall window with a translucent amber coating illuminates is with a soft yellow light.The colorful mosaic ceiling symbolizes America blessing their sons as they depart by sea and air to fight for freedom, and a grateful France bestowing a laurel wreath upon American Dead who gave their lives to liberate Europe's oppressed people.The Garden of the Missing is located behind the memorial structure. Its semi-circular wall contains the names and particulars engraved on stone tables of the 1,557 Missing in the region who gave their lives in the service or positively identified. An asterisk identified those subsequently recovered or identified. Included among these are twin brothers. They came from 49 of the 50 States of the Union, the District of Columbia and Guam. The tablets are separated on the wall by large sculptured laurel leaves.The graves area contains ten grave plots, five on each side of the main mall. Interred within them are the remains of 9,386 servicemen and women. Three hundred and seven of which are Unknowns (whose remain could not be identified), three Medal of Honor recipients, and four women .A Star of David marks the grave of those of the Jewish faith, a Latin cross all others. The precisely aligned headstones against the immaculately maintained emerald green lawn convey an unforgettable feeling of peace and serenity.The plantings. The cemetery is surrounded on the east, south and west by heavy masses of Austrian pine, interplant with Laurel, Cypress and Holly oak. The lawn areas of the Garden of the Missing are bordered with beds of polyantha roses, while European ash trees grow in the lawn areas.

Construction of the cemetery and memorial was completed in 1956 and the dedication ceremony was held on July 18, that same year.

After joining up the five beaches and establishing a firm bridgehead covering 50 miles along the Channel coastline, the Allies proceeded to implement their plan. Whilst the British brought pressure to bear in the Caen direction, drawing the German tank divisions around the regional capital, the Americans broke out from Utah towards Barnebille to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula.

The symbol of the gallantry of the young American soldiers and one of the strong points of the German fortifications, the famous Pointe du Hoc was taken by storm by Colonel Rudder's Rangers on the morning of the 6th June 1944.