On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France.
National monuments are located in 31 states as well as in the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Minor Outlying Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Arizona, with 18, has the largest number of national monuments, followed by California with 15 and New Mexico with 14. At least 65 national monuments protect places of natural significance, including 12 geological sites, seven marine sites, and five volcanic sites.
The oldest is a black granite statue of Queen Senet of Egypt, made during the XII Dynasty between 1985 and 1785BC and brought back from Egypt in 1862 by the future Edward VII. It is on display as part of the Cairo to Constantinople exhibition which runs alongside the Gold exhibition at the Queenâs Gallery, Buckingham Palace, from this Friday.