The German cemetery is a dark field of plaques, each set into a rectangular foundation of rough stone or concrete. At the end of the field is a large tumulus, a mass grave for some of the thousands who, in death, gave up their identity. The mood here is grim, almost Druidic, about this necropolis.

The atmosphere at the British and American grave sites is markedly different. It would be paltering with the truth to say that there was something joyful about their memorials. But there is, I think, something more affirmative about them. Visually, the fields of standing white headstones contrast markedly with the dour little plaques that fill the German cemetery. There’s also, especially in the American cemetery, an aura of power, victory, and religious triumph. ...

At the end of the day, however, what impressed me most about the story of D-Day, the Atlantic Wall and the Allied assault was the somber moral fact that stood behind and made Operation Overlord an existential necessity. As much as any conflict in history, this was a battle between the dark forces of tyranny and the forces of freedom. On this Memorial Day, it behooves us to hold fast to that recognition.