On June 6, 2009 U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Prince Charles of Wales, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and ABMC Secretary Max Cleland marked the 65th anniversary of the allied invasion of Normandy with a ceremony honoring the service members who fought and died on D-Day. Held at Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, the ceremony included more than 100 veterans of World War II.
Normandy American Cemetery is located on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944 and the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. The cemetery site contains the graves of 9,387 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. On the Walls of the Missing are inscribed 1,557 names.