NATIONAL D-DAY MEMORIAL

We took a day trip to the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, in response to a Washington Times commentary by Stroube Smith. The Memorial gives a peek at what the landing at Normandy beach was like on June 6, 1944. Here's Smith:

"34 young men from Bedford landed in the first wave on Omaha Beach, all members of the First Battalion of the 116th Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, all but two of them in Company A.
Within minutes, 19 were killed. Three more died later in the campaign."

Per capita, Bedford was the hardest-hit community in the United States. Here are some photos from the Memorial.


The Overlord Arch is the dominant structure on the Memorial grounds.

Under and slightly behind the Arch is a rifle and helmet tribute to those who died that day.

The following two photos give some small idea of the landing and scaling the cliffs above the beach. The low wall in the back of the photo marks the memorial area; the plaques contain the names of all who died that day.


The Eisenhower memorial.

The Bedford Boysby Alex Kershaw is a history of the men from Bedford.