The Voie de la Liberte recalls the hardship and triumphant progress of the soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Army from the Allied landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944, to the Battle of the Bulge at Bastogne and the final liberation of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The Liberty Road is marked by 1,182 milestones. Its symbolism includes stars representing the 48 states of the United States in 1944, rectangles representing the four sections of the route, a Torch of Liberty modeled after the torch of the Statue of Liberty as the emblem of the 3rd U.S. Army under General George S. Patton Jr., and waves representing the Atlantic Ocean.