I'm on the Board of Directors of Sister Cities of Nashville, which is
a non-profit organization dedicated to educational, commercial and
cultural exchange between Nashville and its various sister cities
around the world. One of our sister cities is Caen, France, located
in Normandie, not far from where the D-Day landings took place in
1944. I've had the opportunity to visit and perform in Caen on two
separate occasions. (It's a really nice city to see, by the way, and I
highly recommend it.) During my 2005 visit, I had the opportunity
of visiting the American cemetery at Omaha Beach, with its 9,387
graves of American soldiers killed in the landings. (There are also
separate cemeteries nearby for our English and Canadian allies.)
Whatever your politics, a visit there is a powerful experience, as
you view row after row of identical white markers, each one with
a name, an age, and a hometown... except for the 307 graves that
are marked "Unknown". For whatever reason, this photo came out
with strange discoloration, making it kind of eerie.