D-Day Memorial and Normandy
Posted on April 30, 2026 by
Off the shores of Normandy, France, on the morning of June 6, 1944 hundreds of thousands of soldiers joined by 5000 ships, thousands of tanks, and trucks amassed to fight one of the most strategic battles in our lifetimes. Among them were 44 soldiers, sailors, and airmen from the town and county of Bedford, Virginia, just 25 minutes from Bedford Landings B & B.
Thirty-seven of these young men belonged to Company A of the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division. Of the 37 assigned to Company A, 31 loaded into landing craft and headed for Omaha Beach in the first wave. En route, a landing craft struck an obstacle and sank, stranding dozens far from shore, including five of Bedford’s own. The remaining 26 successfully reached Omaha Beach, where 16 were killed and four wounded within a matter of minutes. Three others were unaccounted for and later presumed killed in action.
Because of the devastation of so many families in Bedford, in 1996, Congress officially designating that Bedford, VA would be host to the National D-Day Memorial. Though declared a national monument, the project received no federal funding. Peanuts cartoonist and World War II veteran Charles Schulz, whose depictions of America’s favorite beagle Snoopy in scenes from the Normandy invasion appeared in newspapers across the country, signed on as national campaign chair. Saving Private Ryan director Steven Spielberg was among the Memorial’s early donors. Their combined star power helped take fundraising efforts nationwide.
Just this year, Jack and I had the privilege of visiting the Normandy beaches were there is an identical statue honoring the Bedford Boys. The entire experience was not only humbling, but by seeing the actual site of the invasion, it became clear how strategic and collaborative across allies this invasion was.
These photos are from Normandy where 60 miles of wide shoreline stretched before us where this incredible story took place. The beaches of Omaha, Utah, Gold, Sword and Juno were all landing locations.
Of course, when we got home, Jack insisted on watching the movie, ”The Longest Mile,” which does a good job of depicting how important it was to pick the right day, the right weather, and the right time of day at low tide for the invasion. The maps in the monuments at Normandy graphically represent the various responsibilities of each allied force that took part. Success did not happen in just one day. It took until September that year to push the Germans back and take ownership of that which had been taken and declare victory.
For visitors to this part of Virginia, we highly recommend taking a guided tour of the National D-Day memorial. Four days after we returned home, we were drawn to visit our national memorial. This photo depicts the Bedford Boys statue.
The term The Bedford Boys was popularized by author Alex Kershaw’s in his 2003 book referring to the soldiers from Bedford, Virginia, serving in Company A who participated in the Normandy Invasion. The community lost many of its sons, some including brothers that day. Since, the community has grown together and still honors these brave soldiers on Memorial Day and at the memorial regularly.