The mission of the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) is to preserve the memory of the United States Military Forces wherever they served. In Normandy, 13,797 Americans are buried in the two cemeteries of Colleville-sur-Mer and Saint-James. The very first chairman of the ABMC was General of the Army John J. Pershing, until his death in 1948. Twenty or so French employees maintain the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, which, since June 2017, has been run by Superintendent Scott Desjardins, an American-Canadian with Norman roots.