beny-sur-mer canadian war cemetery

Great place to visit. Highly recommended, every Canadian should try and make a pilgrimage if they can. These Canadians sacrificed themselves for us 70 years ago. Surreal... better than the textbooks. Very tranquil. On the beautiful Caen countryside. Wish I could have stayed longer. Only had about 1 hour of time to be there... would go back for sure.

After visiting the wonderful Juno Beach museum, my 15-year old daughter and I stopped for dinner in town. We had planned all along to visit the Beny-sur-Mer cemetery to seek out the grave of David Hazzard, whose touching letters to his wife during the war were published as a series in the Globe and Mail several years ago. I felt I had come to know this letter-writer, and my daughter devoted a history project to David Hazzard. When we arrived the sun was setting and no one was there. I expected to find a directory to lead us to David's grave, but there was none. There are over 2000 gravestones in that cemetery. I took one half and my daughter took the other half. As the time went on and it became darker and darker, there was a calm that fell over that place. The soft breeze, the trees silhouetted against the dim sky, and the feeling that you were entirely alone. We finally found David Hazzard's place in one of the few last remaining rows to be checked. Out of respect, we finished reading the names in the remaining two rows. David Hazzard's grave was situated in such a place that the two of us read the names of every soldier in that cemetery. I noted the Browns (my mother's maiden name), Sweeny, Braden, and I stopped every time I saw a name beginning with H. But, we read each name. Throughout the time, I kept looking back at my daughter, marvelling at how brave she was. It was only as we walked away did she realize that the gravestones were not mere markers, but actual soldiers were buried there! But, we will never forget that time at this beautiful cemetery. Sombre and meaningful. And to make one feel even more Canadian, there is a giant Canadian flag painted on the ground of the parking lot.

As a Canadian, visiting this cemetary was truly touching.This place is so peaceful...it brings you chills.

We were searching for a friend's relative, who turned out not to be at this cemetery, but we were still glad we visited. In the portico, there is a book where you can look up by name the person for whom you are searching. There was only one other car here when we visited, so it is a very quiet, peaceful cemetery.

My uncle was buried here after having been a casualty during the battles that surrounded Caen. His wife - my aunt, never remarried but raised 2 young children on her own. She was a pillar of both strength and endurance yet had a compassion for every living thing and person. When she died, many inquiries were made, some strings were pulled and eventually a portion of her ashes were interned in Beny-sur-Mer. God bless you both.

After visiting the American cemetary and all the crowds there it was nice to enjoy the peaceful serenity that this cemetary extrudes. The grounds are set up very nicely and as with all commonwealth cemetary's the care is to an exact standard. There are two porticos a little ways in that allow you to climb to their second story if you want to view the area or take photo's. I did find that there were a large number of graves from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and the New Brunswick Regiment as both battalion's are from my area. There is ample parking next to the cemetery and it has a large Canadian Flag embossed in the middle of it.

So many young men, gone too soon but never forgotten. Hopefully mankind has learned and another world war will never happen again.

Having grown up in metro Detroit and having a cottage in Canada makes me biased towards this memorial... However, I believe this is very important stop for anyone visiting Normandy. The cemetery is deeply emotional because of the individual statements from the families of the deceased which are written on each head stone. The cemetery is located in the beautiful rolling Normandy countryside. It's easily accessed to and from the Normandy beaches. I strongly encourage my American country men to visit this fine memorial and pay tribute to our Canadian brothers who began the fight two years before we did.

I was on a Canadian battlefields tour of World War I & World War II. A very beautiful resting place for our Canadian soldiers who died in and around Jun 6th, 1944.There are about 2,048 soldiers buried: four from Britain, one from France and the rest Canadian.You'll see most gravestones contain the ages of the soldiers. so young and yet so much to live for. The ages range from about 17 to 47. There are 7 sets of brothers, and one set of three brothers.The area surrounding the cemetery is peaceful, quiet and beautiful.Every Canadian should visit this at least once to pay their respects and give thanks to those who put their lives on the line for our freedom today.I can't recommend how long you stay here. It's up to you. I think our group was about 45 minutes to an hour.There is a book of remembrance you can sign before you leave.

The cemetery is in one corner of a farmers field. Not a sound can be heard and it is the perfect setting for paying our respects. The grounds are meticulous and there is a registry in one of the side viewing areas, in a little niche with a cross on it.

Stopped in on our way to Juno Beach Centre. We are a family of 6 with 4 younger children. We all were impressed with how well done this cemetery was and how well maintained it is. It is very Canadian as you see a huge Canada flag as part of the parking lot. Each headstone is personalized with most ages. We were reminded how young most of the soldiers were. Seeing all those headstones and knowing they represent just a fraction of the lives that were sacrificed also puts the overall loss into perspective. There is also a catalog of all the names. We browsed through and found by chance a name of a soldier who was from a small town next to the town my wife and I grew up in, with the surname of many people we know. It added a personal touch to put this connection together and then go find his grave site.

Of all 4 cemeteries we visited found this one to be the most peaceful in its setting off the beaten track with distant sea views

My husband and I visited this cemetery after touring Juno Beach. It was one of the highlights of our seven weeks in France. We had not expected it to be so personal. All the headstones were engraved with a Maple Leaf but each one had a unique passage inscribed. Family members must have been contacted and they provided the inscription to honour their sons, fathers, brothers, husbands. I have no words to express how touched and saddened I was reading these names and inscriptions. The same dates kept coming up over and over again - dates of major battles with massive casualties. The thing that really made me weep, was the fact that these graves were so far away from loved ones, most of whom would never get the opportunity to travel overseas and mourn at these graves for the lost lives and dreams of these young men.I was so happy to see how well maintained the cemetery is. A great deal of time and planning has gone into planting a huge assortment and number of perennials, so that there are always plants in blossom. The grass, bushes, and trees are meticulously groomed and pruned. The monument is very beautiful, as well.We stayed until the sun started to set and left reluctantly, with very heavy hearts, knowing that there was no way we could ever fully express our gratitude for the sacrifice made so long ago, in a place so far away - a sacrifice which resulted in the rights and freedoms we have enjoyed all through our lives. I will never forget. My memory is the only thing I have to give in return.

Very well maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Like all of their cemeteries, the grounds are immaculate. They have even made the effort to bring Canadian Maple trees over and planted them in the entrance garden. An appropriate resting place for heroes.

A fitting tribute to all the Canadians who fell in the D-Day invasion of the Atlantic Wall. We visited in August 2014, just after the 70th anniversary of D-Day. The cemetery is immaculately maintained, down the the planting between stones and the grass trimming. You can wonder through the rows of the fallen and read the names and rank for most. Makes you proud to be Canadian and also know that we will never forget their contributions to our nation.Be sure to sign the guest book located in the right side archway, just before the tomb stones.