Beyond the lawns edged by flowerbeds of polyantha roses (Rosa multiflora), a semi-circular memorial can be seen with a 7-metre-high bronze statue symbolising the ‘Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves’ in its centre. The tone is set and the emotion will grow at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. Nothing prepares for the poignant sight of these 9,387 white marble crosses. They all face Westward, towards the country that these young men would never see again. Below the cliff, the waves scatter across Omaha Beach that has regained its original tranquillity.