Equipe d'enregistrement

The establishment of a permanent US Military Cemetery after June 6th became impossible.

However, losses were so great that it became imperative to find a site to construct a temporary one.

In the interim, a temporary “Potter’s” field was employed. However, on June 7, 1944 the 3^rd Platoon of the 607^th Engineering Company, attached to a special Brigade of Engineers, succeeds in constructing a cemetery directly on the beach between Vierville and Saint Laurent on the Normandy landing site called “White Dog”.

It is the first American cemetery developed by the U.S. Army’s 603^rd Burial & Registration Command in France. On the date of its closing on June 10, 1944  457 Americans, a few Germans, English, Sailors, and Royal Air Force aviators will have been interned here.

The Provisional American Cemetery during a Mass Ruquet

Temporary American cemetery at St Lawrence

By June 26, 1944, at the stroke of midnight, 1 510 Americans are removed from this cemetery and permanently laid to rest at Saint-Laurent sur Mer, along with 48 of their Allies, and 606 Germans, for a total of 2 164 tombs.

American Cemetery "Colleville sur mer" in 1944

American Cemetery "Colleville sur mer" in 1952

Today, the U.S. Military Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer is, in part, built on this temporary cemetery site.

He, alone, is sent to Normandy on June 6, 1944 with the mission to establish a temporary cemetery for the 82^nd Airborne Division. The rest of his Unit will join him a few days later, after the Utah Beach landing has been secured.

His testimony recounts how men from the Registration & Burial Command organized and managed the establishment of temporary military cemeteries in Normandy.

When he arrives in Normandy, his first task is to select a site and develop a plan for a cemetery. He selects a field next to the Carrefour Supermarket at Les Forges and starts to receive bodies. He decides to organize the Cemetery in rows of twenty graves based on the limited supplies at his disposal.

Cemetery Temporary from Blosville

 On June 7^th after having secured their personal belongings, here 50 Soldiers are laid to rest. By June 9th hundreds of Soldiers require burial: almost half of them are German.

Finally, on June 10th, the first group of the 603^rd Burial & Registration Command arrives with both equipment and materials.

From this date on all cadavers belonging to the 82^nd Airborne Division are sent directly to this cemetery.

Today, a monument in Les Forges indicates the site of the Blosville cemetery where over 5 700 Americans were initially buried.

Cemetery Temporary from Blosville

Stele to the site of the temporaryCemetery Blosville

Sainte Mère Eglise N°1

4^th Infantry Division

On June 9, 1944, other platoons of the 603d Burial & Registration Command arrive on the Utah Beach coast with the mission to arrange for temporary cemeteries in Europe.

The same day, they begin developing the one at Sainte Mere Eglise to bury the dead of the U.S. Army’s 90^th Infantry Division.

90^th Infantry Division

This cemetery will soon become too inadequate: 2 172 American soldiers and 13 allies were buried there in just a few weeks. The great loss of Airborne troops forces the Command to build a second cemetery on June 25thsouth of Sainte Mere Eglise.

The site will be known as cemetery Sainte Mere Eglise N°2 and will eventually contain 4 812 American, Allied, and German soldiers’ tombs.

Monument remembering the location of the temporary Cemetery Ste Mère Eglise N° 2

Cemetery temporary "La Cambe" before 1948

On June 11, 1944 the landed troops on Omaha Beach finally succeeded to break through the enemy lines and were on the march to the heart of Normandy.

During this offensive, American Army loses were substantial and the U.S. Army’s Grave Registration Service was obliged to set up a temporary cemetery around the village of La Cambe.

A total of 4,543 American soldiers from the First Army Division will be buried in the Cemetery of La Cambe.

A majority of them belong to the 29^th Infantry Division; this is why the cemetery will be named after this unit.

Cemetery temporary "La Cambe" before 1948

Map cemetery of La Cambe with American side (4534 soldiers buried) and German side (8574 soldiers buried)

After the exhumation of American corpses in 1948, the area will be designated as a permanent Cemetery for German War Dead.

Marigny

Saint James

July 31, 1944 with 3 070 body

On August 5th with 4 367 body

Le Chêne-Guérin

August 7 containing the bodies of 1 202 soldiers.

A second cemetery at Chêne-Guerin is installed in 1 628 to bury bodies of German soldiers.

The future permanent cemetery of St James is established less than a week after the release of Avranches by the 610^th Company of the registration of burials

 Subsequently, he was entrusted to the company's 3 042 Graves Registration, attached to Patton's Third Army and supported by the 611^th Company: 4 367 American soldiers, 45 British, 38 French, three Canadians, one Australian, one New Zealander, who for the most part, lost their lives during the liberation of St. Lo and the country of the Cotentin and Brittany during operations to control the east bank of the Seine.

With the advance of military operations, Americans continue to gradually establish new cemeteries:

Gorron

Saint Corneille

Gorron 752 body August 15, 1944

The cemetery was officially established August 16, 1944 by the 3^rd U.S. Army of General Patton. 521 U.S. soldiers were buried there.

Saint André de l’Eure

Villeneuve sur Auvers

The temporary cemetery of St André de l’Eure was established August 24, 1944 by the 1^st U.S. Army.

It was situated between Evreux and Dreux. 2 066 Americans who gave their lives through France, on their way to liberate Paris were buried there.

303 corps le 25 aout 1944

ORGLANDES 

Around June 20, 1944, the Platoon 603^rd company registration of burials of the 1^st US Army heads Orglandes to establish a new cemetery.

Originally designated for American troops, it will also eventually include German soldiers: 6,074 Germans soldiers will be buried here in accordance with the same ceremonies afforded to American soldiers.
 

Today, the Orglandes Cemetery now includes the tombs of 10 152 German Soldiers.

Standing in the cemetery of Orglandes, there are now 10 152 German soldiers buried.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE TEMPORARY CEMETERIES

CEMETERY WORK on the COLLEVILLE sur MER

By Constant LEBASTARD

Ouvrage sur le Cimetière Américain de Colleville sur mer

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