"Les Gateys" National Cemetery

When the fighting in Normandy was over, the bodies of six soldiers who were killed in the Écouves Forest were buried were they fell on private land in a place known as "Les Gateys", in the village of Saint-Nicolas-des-Bois. In 1964, the 2nd DB veterans' association "la Maison des Anciens de la 2e DB" bought this plot of land, where major commemoration ceremonies have frequently been held. They redeveloped the site and transformed it into a small private cemetery.

In 1987, the Orne General Council wanted to bring together the dispersed graves of the men from the 2nd DB killed during the battles to liberate the Orne. The "Maison des Anciens de la 2e DB" donated the land at Les Gateys so that these graves could be transferred here. The bodies of 11 soldiers were reburied here.

This military cemetery, which is now a National Cemetery, contains 17 graves. Two of these each contains the bodies of two soldiers whose mortal remains could not be separated.

Latin crosses cohabit here with stele bearing the Crescent of Islam or the Star of David, reflecting the spirit of unity and fraternity of the 2nd DB.