“Are you visiting a soldier today?”
Those are the words visitors often hear when entering the Normandy Visitor Center.
“That’s what they call it here … not ‘seeing a grave,’ but ‘visiting a soldier,’” wrote Joseph Dunn, of New Orleans. Dunn, who has visited Normandy three times, wrote those words in 2012, while on a diplomatic visit with then-Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne.
Cpl. Albert G. Callais served in the 82nd Airborne Division.
Last year, Adrian “Jett” Callais visited his Uncle Albert in Normandy. Cpl. Albert G. Callais was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army and a Louisiana soldier who took part in the biggest invasion ever executed: D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Cpl. Callais continues his service at Normandy to liberate France. That’s what the French say: The service of the soldiers who liberated France on June 6, 1944, and ultimately all of Europe, never ends.
According to the American Battle Monuments Commission, the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France located in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, was established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944, as the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II.
Normandy beach, as seen from the top of the cliffs, with remnants of World War II equipment still visible on the beach.
The cemetery site covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of 9,388 American military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. The names of 1,557 are inscribed on the Walls of the Missing, in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.
The memorial consists of a semicircular colonnade with a loggia at each end containing large maps and narratives of the military operations. At its center is the bronze statue, “Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves.” The site includes an orientation table overlooking the beach depicting the landings in Normandy.
The $30 million Normandy Visitor Center opened was dedicated by the American Battle Monuments Commission on June 6, 2007. More than 1 million visitors come to Normandy each year. The cemetery hosts a flag-lowering ceremony one hour before the cemetery closes to the public each day.
Cpl. Albert G. Callais’ final resting place is at Normandy American Cemetery.
"Photographs do not quite convey the scale nor the magnitude of 9,300-plus white marble crosses and Stars of David row after row set on a bluff against an ocean view," said Jett Callais of his 2023 visit.
Dunn said his reaction was similar on each visit. Walking along a path, seeing the sea beyond the cliff, rounding a curve, and physically stopping, suddenly overwhelmed by nearly 9,400 graves, each marked with a cross or a Star of David. Dunn describes the feeling as “walking into an emotional brick wall.”
Most other visitors have the same reaction.
Dunn recalls Dardenne reading letters between John Ray, a Louisiana soldier who was shot while parachuting into Normandy, and his wife. While in the hospital, Ray wrote a letter to his wife, and then died on June 7, 1944. She continued to write him letters until she was finally notified of his death in September 1944. The letters are poignant evidence of a young husband who sacrificed his life and left a young bride at home, as he helped save the world during World War II.
Jett Callais visits the grave of his uncle, Cpl. Albert G. Callais, at Normandy American Cemetery on June 6, 2023, the 79th anniversary of D-Day.
Similar to John Ray, Callais was killed during the liberation on June 6, 1944.
“Seeing his final resting place after hearing so much about him from all who knew him gave me a tangible reminder of who he really was," Jett Callais said. "My grandparents would be pleased knowing that he rests in such a beautiful place.”
Cpl. Callais, John Ray, and 9,386 of their fellow soldiers remain on the cliff above the English Channel at the Normandy American Cemetery, their service never-ending. The alabaster markers for each soldier are inscribed with their state of origin.
Cp. Callais and John Ray, along with at least 137 other markers, say “Louisiana.”
To plan a site visit, see a relative's grave, request a group visit, special tour or wreath-laying ceremony to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, contact [email protected].