The Colleville-sur-Mer American Cemetery is situated at the top of the cliff overlooking Omaha Beach, one of the sites of the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. Beyond the reception building, 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. Continuing from the pool, in which the columns of the memorial are reflected, the central walkway serves 10 squares of graves where 9,387 soldiers lie, including 4 women and 307 unknowns. Below, Omaha Beach unfurls its quiet-again long ribbon of sand.