EP 06: The Normandy Tapestry

This tour welcomes you to the Memorial and introduces you to its major features, themes, and stories. Learn about the Memorial’s design, the significance of its location, and Eisenhower’s own vision for America.

Hear from world-renowned architect Frank Gehry on the process and meaning behind his design for the memorial. In a conversation with his biographer Paul Goldberger, Gehry reflects on how the Memorial came to be and what Eisenhower’s legacy means to him.

This tour centers on the sculpture of Eisenhower as a young man, located in the Northwest corner of the Memorial. How did a smalltown boy from Kansas grow up to be the leader of the free world? Hear about Ike’s humble beginnings and his first steps towards greatness—and hear from Eisenhower himself on what his hometown meant to him.

A sculptural grouping at the heart of the Memorial depicts General Eisenhower as he addresses paratroopers the night before the D-Day invasion at Normandy. How did Eisenhower go from rebellious West Point cadet to Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force? Get to know the man of grit, intelligence, and charisma and hear him speak the fateful “Order of the Day” that sent scores of soldiers, sailors, and airmen onward into Normandy—and the end of World War II.

President Eisenhower confers with military and civilian advisors in the second sculptural grouping at the center of the Memorial. How did one of America’s most famous military leaders become a champion for peace? Hear about Eisenhower’s priorities and principles as president and the institutions he established to make the nation and its people safer, stronger, and more prosperous.

The grand backdrop to the Memorial is a 450 foot-wide woven wire tapestry depicting the cliffs of Normandy in peacetime. Hear from Memorial architect Frank Gehry on how the tapestry was conceived and constructed—from a hand sketch to over 80 million individual wire welds.