I have been to Normandy three times now. One of the things that always impresses me is that the French still bring bus loads of students to the American Cemetery. Every time I was there French students were about. Once when I was there the student group stood at one of the outlooks and got a briefing on the actual landing. Saw the same group down in Aeromaches. Another time I watched the kids dispersed throughout the cemetery with note books or pieces of paper. I asked a teacher speaking English to another tourist what the students were doing. She said they were on a scavenger like hunt for the grave of Preston Niland, The Niland brothers were who Saving Private Ryan was based on. They had watched the movie while studying about the invasion and France's liberation. Having the students wonder about aimlessly searching headstones for Niland was their way of getting the kids out among the graves and actually reading the names of all the dead. I bet there are very few NOVA/MD schools that make an annual trip out to Arlington.However, I will say that the Canadians do it right when it comes to public interaction. Although the American Cemetery and museum at Normandy were immaculate the docents at Vimy were second to none while the guides at Normandy, while good, didn't measure up to the Canucks. The Canadians hand pick college kids to go to Vimy and they do a great job of explaining what Vimy means to Canada. The French docents at Normandy are good and appreciative but don't do as good of a job of articulating what Normandy means to Americans.
Another contrast to the American Cemetery besides Vimy is La Cambre, the German Cemetery in Normandy . Stark contrast. interestingly, the German government does not support foreign war dead cemeteries. They are maintained by a private foundation or trust. And it is local Normans that routinely bring flowers and lay wreaths at their personal expense.
The German WWI cemeteries ar similar.Yes, this is a must see, I remember hearing the French government allowed the German cemetery but did not allow the headstones to be white. If I remember they are dark grey or black.
I have always stayed in Bayeux, great little town, there where signs in the windows of the restaurants that said "If you came here in 1944, you already paid, your meal is free"