Many American tourists have expressed anger at the closure of the D-Day cemetery in Normandy as a result of the government shut down after they had traveled thousands of miles to see it, according to NBC News.
Thousand of American tourists travel to Normandy every year to see the beaches where the massive battle took place as Allied forces entered in Nazi-occupied France on June 6, 1944, a date that became known as D-Day.
Now, almost 70 years later, visitors arrived at the cemetery to discover it was chained shut.
"Due to the U.S. Government shut-down this site is closed to the public, a sign on the gate read. Visitors had put dozens of roses underneath the sign.
All non-essential government services have been shut down by the government due to a political standoff between Republicans and Democrats over the U.S. budget. The resulting closures include the American Battle Monuments Commission (AMBC) that manages cemeteries for U.S. servicemen and women in foreign countries.
The web site said the cemeteries and memorials were temporarily closed due to a funding gap resulting from the shut down.
Tourists were very upset. Among them were Danny and Elizabeth Ferguson from North Carolina, who were shocked to find the cemetery locked shut.
"We were very, very sad, after traveling so far and making such plans, to find that the government has elected to shut this place down," Danny, a lawyer, told NBC News. "We think it's all political, and we think it's terrible."
Another visitor, Fred Oldman, was the son of a soldier who participated in the invasion at Utah beach. He never thought the sites would be closed when he planned his trip.
"We scheduled this trip about nine months ago and unfortunately, we can't go to a cemetery because our government seems to shut everything down when they can't get along," he said. "So we're very disappointed in that."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
