On the entrance of the north-west corner of the park, near the edge of the road.

A black granite block, inscribed in gold-leaf English and French text. It is standing at a concrete square base behind the retaining wall of the park and facing the park. The insignia of the 2^nd Division is printed on the top of the inscription.

The Battle for Brest was one of the fiercest battles of World War II's Operation Cobra, which was the Allied breakout of the Normandy area that began July 27, 1944.  Brest, France, was an important port to the Allies during that summer. To successfully keep their foothold in Europe, it was necessary to capture port facilities across France so enormous amounts of wartime goods could be delivered to supply the invading forces during their push east. Americans breached the town of Brest on Aug. 7, and after extra reinforcements moved in, they were able to surround the city, trapping thousands of German soldiers who had dug in to fortify their position. A full assault was launched Aug. 25.

The Battle for Brest ended up being a long and deadly siege. The town was destroyed by the time the Germans surrendered on Sept. 18, and by then, Brest had no strategic value left, as the Allied front had managed to push east nearly to the German border.

Source of information: www.defense.gov

Photo source: www.ouest-france.fr

SECOND

INFANTRY

DIVISION

UNITED STATES

OF

AMERICA

FOR THOSE WHO

FOUGHT AND DIED

FOR LIBERATION

OF BREST

Août-Sept. 1944

Englsih translation:

Août = August