Omaha Beach

Omaha was the most difficult of the D-Day beaches to assault. Nicknamed “Bloody Omaha,” nearly half of all D-Day casualties were suffered here.

There are two memorial statues in the center of the beach:

The older memorial is from 1949. Built by thankful French, it was funded by selling scrap metal after the war and honors the two assaulting divisions, the 29th and 1st. A striking modern metal statue (The Braves, 2004) rises from the waves in honor of the liberating forces and symbolizes the rise of freedom on the wings of hope.Read more