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D-Day graves ready for ceremony
EFL, but recommend reading the whole article. Sleep well, servicemen and women. We honor your sacrifice.In its magnificent setting on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach and the Channel beyond, fevered preparations are under way at the American cemetery and memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer for the 60th anniversary commemorations of D-Day. One of the high points of June 6 - and the moment to be most closely monitored for its diplomatic significance - will be the encounter between presidents Jacques Chirac and George W Bush at the joint Franco-American ceremony before the gravestones of some 9,400 fallen US troops. Today contractors are installing metal viewing-stands, rows of folding seats and towers for the television cameras, while gardeners bring the already immaculate acres of greensward and woodland into an even higher state of perfection. Vast tents have been installed out of view for accommodating the 1,700 American soldiers who will provide both the ceremonial guard and an extra tier of security. Terrorism is a real concern, and the whole 80-kilometre (50-mile) stretch of the Normandy coast is already patrolled by French paramilitary gendarmes. Posted by: Seafarious 2004-05-27 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=34011 |