US First Lady Jill Biden and Brigitte Macron honor U.S. military fallen at Brittany American Cemetery in France
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press release
US First Lady Jill Biden and Brigitte Macron honor U.S. military fallen at Brittany American Cemetery in France
Arlington, Virginia. (July 26, 2023) — Today the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) welcomed the First Lady of the United States Jill Biden and Brigitte Macron to Brittany American Cemetery in Normandy, France.
The visit to Brittany American Cemetery is the first official visit to this ABMC site. Following the playing of both national anthems, Biden and Macron took part in a wreath laying and headstone sanding ceremony. The visit came as part of Biden’s visit to Paris, where she delivered remarks at an event with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
“Welcoming the U.S. First Lady and Brigitte Macron at our site today was a great honor,” said Anthony Barclay, Brittany American Cemetery superintendent. “The ABMC has cared for the men and women buried at our sites for a century now, and we were grateful for the opportunity to highlight our mission for Dr. Biden and Mrs. Macron. Sharing this history with them enables us to preserve the memories of the heroes commemorated here at Brittany American Cemetery, and at all other ABMC sites.”
The Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial in France covers 28 acres of rolling farm country near the eastern edge of Brittany and contains the remains of more than 4,400 of our war dead, most of whom lost their lives in the Normandy and Brittany Campaigns of 1944. Along the retaining wall of the memorial terrace are inscribed the names of 500 of the missing. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.
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Media Contact, ABMC’s U.S. Headquarters
Ashleigh Byrnes (U.S.)
248-342-2562
Media Contact, ABMC’s Overseas Operations (France)
Hélène Chaulin (France)
About American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC):
The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) operates and maintains 26 cemeteries and 31 federal memorials, monuments, and commemorative plaques in 17 countries throughout the world, including the United States. The four memorials in the United States are: the World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C.; the Honolulu memorial located within the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii; the West Coast Memorial located within the Presidio National Park in San Francisco, Calif; and the East Coast Memorial located within Battery City Park in New York, N.Y. Since March 4, 1923, ABMC’s sacred mission remains to honor the service, achievements, and sacrifice of more than 200,000 U.S. service members buried and memorialized at our sites. For more information about ABMC, visit abmc.gov.
About Brittany American Cemetery:
Brittany American Cemetery | American Battle Monuments Commission (abmc.gov)