Graves above Omaha Beach, Normandy

The nearest gravestone, decorated with (not entirely convincing) flowers, reads:

WILLIAM S. O'QUINN
PVT 502 PRCHT IF 101 ABN DIV
(Private, 502 Parachute Infantry, 101 Airborne Division)
CALIFORNIA JUN 11 1944

In a few days each grave would be given an American flag, on Friday President Obama was here.

The American Cemetery at Colleville overlooks Omaha Beach. Nearly 10,000 American soldiers lie buried there; it is a place where you can find a general buried beside a private.


(This is a retrospective blip.)