The best walks and hikes around Colleville-Sur-Mer

The memorial was erected in 1956 to honor the brave soldiers of the 1st U.S. Infantry Division, known as the "Big Red One," who fought in the Easy Red sector during the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. The memorial consists of an obelisk-like pillar of gray granite surrounded by a circular bench. Engraved on the obelisk are the names of 627 fallen soldiers who fell between June 6 and July 24, 1944. It stands on the site of the former German resistance position WN62, one of the strongest defensive positions in the area.

The Plage des Braves ("Beach of the Brave") lies directly in front of the Normandy American Cemetery and is the part of Omaha Beach where American troops landed on D-Day on June 6, 1944. The beach now stands as a silent memorial to the courage and sacrifice of the soldiers who fought here, suffering heavy losses, to end the German occupation. At the edge of the beach stands the Plage des Braves Memorial, a simple but impressive monument commemorating the valor of American soldiers. It is estimated that between 2,000 and 2,500 American soldiers died in the Omaha Beach landings. This number includes those who died directly during the landings and in the immediate fighting around the beach.

On June 6, 2007, exactly 63 years after D-Day, the ABMC opened the visitor center. Among the more than 3,000 attendees was US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. The visitor center offers a comprehensive overview of the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, and the role of American troops on D-Day. Several exhibition rooms display, among other things, historical exhibits, photos, documents, and maps that illustrate the course of the invasion, troop movements, soldiers' equipment, and strategic challenges.

GPS coordinates: N 49° 21.616, W 0° 50.876 The monument of the 5th Engineer Special Brigade honors the US Combat Engineers who fought during the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944. It stands on the site of a former German strongpoint and consists of a concrete base with granite and bronze plaques, which specifically honor the subunits of the brigade – including the 299th Engineer Combat Battalion. The 5th Engineer Special Brigade was responsible for the Omaha Beach sector. Their main tasks included clearing mines and obstacles, creating lanes for vehicles, rescuing the wounded, and supporting the infantry during the landings. Despite heavy shelling, the brigade succeeded in securing the landing zones, thereby enabling the supply and movement of Allied troops. The monument commemorates their courage and sacrifices.

Looking west in the GARDEN OF THE MISSING, one can see the reflecting pool in the foreground, behind it two flagpoles on which the American flag flies daily, and the burial ground with the round chapel.

From above Omaha Beach, visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of the landing beaches, complemented by an overview panel. This shows the positions of the units, the routes of the landing ships, and the movements of troops inland, allowing them to vividly retrace the course of the D-Day landings.

The monument titled “The Spirit of American Youth Rising From the Waves” is surrounded by a semicircular row of columns. At the ends of the colonnade, two loggias display illustrated maps in English and French: the southern one depicts the Normandy landings, the northern one the advance of the Allies until the German surrender in 1945.

At both ends of a colonnade are loggias, in which maps and explanations of the battles are shown in English and French. The southern loggia depicts the course of the Normandy landings and the subsequent advance of the Allies inland. The northern loggia, on the other hand, shows the military operations in Western Europe – from D-Day to the capitulation of Germany in May 1945.