Yesterday our family visited the National D-Day memorial in Bedford, Virginia. Bedford is very close to Lynchburg but is more rural and surrounded by higher mountain peaks. It's a beautiful small town with wondrous character.
We visited Bedford in September [post about Bedford] during their Centerfest Fall Festival and were impressed with the beauty of the town and the friendliness of the people who live there—all 6,000 of them. Well, we didn't actually meet all 6,000 of them, but the ones we met were great and very hospitable.
So why was a town of 6,000 residents chosen to host the National D-Day Memorial?
Our tour guide explained to us that on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), nineteen young men from the town of Bedford died storming the beaches. In 1944 Bedford had fewer than 3,000 residents, so the number of soldiers from Bedford who died on that day were the most per capita deaths from any one town in the United States. For this reason, Bedford was chosen as the location for the National D-Day Memorial. The gorgeous natural surroundings are an additional reason that this memorial is so beautiful.
I'm going to post a bit more over the next few days and share a few more photos with you. I'll also provide some links to the National D-Day Memorial web site so you can plan your trip to this outstanding memorial.
Thanks for this, Richard. The D-Day Memorial in Bedford was one of the most moving and sad places I ever visited. If you have not read the book, "The Bedford Boys," by Kershaw, I urge you to do so. What a huge sacrifice our veterans have made in so many wars and during peace, too. Blessings to you from Peggy.
ReplyDeletePeggy - Thank you for the book recommendation. I saw that book at the memorial's gift shop. Based on your recommendation, I'm going to order this book and read it.
ReplyDeleteWe were blown away by this memorial and by the history lesson presented by our tour guide. What an amazing sacrifice was made for our benefit and for the benefit of the entire world.
Blessings to you as well.