To help honor the nearly 9,000 members of the U.S. armed forces buried or memorialized at Cambridge American Cemetery in England, a new visitor center was dedicated on May 26, 2014. 

To help honor the nearly 11,000 members of the U.S. armed forces buried or memorialized at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Italy, a new visitor center was dedicated on May 26, 2014. 

“If prayer were made of sound, the skies over England that night would have deafened the world.” President Barack Obama opened with these solemn words today at Normandy American Cemetery on the 70^th Anniversary of D-Day.

Live coverage of the 70th Anniversary of D-Day Ceremony at Normandy American Cemetery will begin at 4:00 a.m. EDT on MSNBC.

Whitehouse.gov will have a live stream of the ceremony available on its website.

The Pentagon Channel is also planning to offer live coverage.

During Memorial Day weekend ABMC paid tribute to the more than 200,000 individuals commemorated at these overseas cemeteries.

Memorial Day–the federal holiday in which we honor our veterans and remember those who died while in the armed services–originated in the aftermath of the Civil War.

More than 500,000 Americans lost their lives in World War I and World War II defending democracy on soil and water far from the United States. The sacrifice of these men and women will be honored during ceremonies at America’s military cemeteries overseas, where more than 200,000 of these individuals are buried and memorialized.

Throughout World War II, the 100^th and 442^nd fought with courage, neatly encapsulated in the unit motto––“Go for broke.” By the end of the war, the unit had received more than 18,000 individual decorations.

In these last days of World War II in Europe, American soldiers continued to fight bravely. One such soldier was Pfc. Charley Havlat, who was shot in a German ambush on May 7. Havlat is considered to be the last American killed in the European Theater of Operations.