This is Sergeant Elbert Legg from the 603rd Graves Registration Company in the first picture. Sergeant Legg went in with the 82nd Airborne Division by Glider on June 6, 1944.

 He picked a piece of land on June 6 and the next day June 7 started the first American Cemetery in Europe.

The second picture was taken around that day and it shows Sergeant Legg preparing a man for burial. For the first week Legg worked without the rest of his Platoon as they were still waiting to come ashore. Men from the 407th Airborne Quartermaster Company and the local French helped to bury the men killed during the first week in Normandy.

In the third picture you see the sign that says it all, Cemetery 82nd Airborne. Sergeant Legg buried 401 men in that first week. When the rest of the Platoon arrived on June 13 they decided to reset the Cemetery which was renamed the Blosville Cemetery. The 401 men buried there were relocated into the main Cemetery.

Sergeant Legg transferred from the 603rd to the 82nd Airborne Division and stayed in the Army retiring a Colonel.

This is what Memorial Day is all about. Honoring and remembering all who died defending their country.

Looking for more on the Burials in Normandy?  On The Beach