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Normandy Trip - La Cambe Germany Military Cemetery


La Cambe Visitor Center
La Cambe Visitor Center
After we woke up and had breakfast in the hotel, we headed towards the German Military Cemetery of La Cambe near Bayeux. La Cambe is home to 1, 222 fallen soldiers, who fell between D-Day and Aug. 20, 1944, though there are more remains being found today. The average age of the men buried here were between 18 and 20 years old. The cemetery was well-hidden from the main highway, but there were "Freedom Trees" that were planted on the road leading up to the cemetery. The rows of tress are called the Garden of Peace.            

Entrance way into La Cambe.
Entrance way into La Cambe.
The cemetery had a nice visitor center, where it showcased some of the original wooden crosses. As we walked up to the entrance way that lead us to the cemetery, we noticed the stone wall, and the tall and thin entrance way. 

Overall, cemetery was beautiful, but it was also very somber due to the black headstones that told you that there were at least two people, if not more, buried there. 

Color of the Crosses
Black granite Saxon crosses were spread throughout the cemetery, giving the cemetery a very solitude atmosphere. This really set a more somber tone, since they were not the standard white ones that are commonly seen. 

La Cambe Tumulus
La Cambe Tumulus
La Cambe Tumulus
In the middle of the cemetery, lay a huge mound, or a tumulus, where a 5m statue of the Holy Cross stood. This tumulus held 207 unknown war victims, as well as 89 identified war victims. There are stairs around the back of the mound, where you are able to climb to the top.  From the top, you can get some amazing views of the cemetery, where you realize how big the cemetery actually is. 

It was quite cloudy the day that we went, adding more melancholy to an already sad environment. With this in mind, imagine as if you were standing on top of the tumulus, looking down, realizing how many people are buried in the graves and how many people are underneath the tumulus and that their stones are dark in color, what thoughts would be going through your mind? I hope that is would be that life is precious and war is hard, especially for those young men who died for a cause that probably wasn't even theirs. 

I shot a lot of my photos in black and white to capture the ambiance of that day.


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