The National D-Day Memorial—Bedford, VA

Bedford, VA, a small town between Lynchburg and Roanoke close to the Blue Ridge Mountains had the highest per capita death ratio of any town in the United States on World War II's D-Day, June 6, 1944. Bedford's 1944 population was about 3200. 

On D-Day, 44 Bedford soldiers, sailors and airmen were involved in the landings with 37 of these men belonging to Company A of the 116^th Infantry Regiment, 29^th Division, U.S. Army. The others were in different companies of the 116^th or in a different division plus 2 more men were in the air with the pre-invasion bombardment group.  Company A landed on Omaha Beach as part of the first wave.  Heavy clouds that morning stopped the Allied aircraft from bombing and disabling many of the German shore batteries. 

31 of 37 Bedford Boys in Company A were in the first wave landing craft that took devastating fire from shore.  One landing craft struck an obstacle and sank, stranding a dozen men far from shore including 5 Bedford Boys.  26 Boys reached the beach where 16 were killed and 4 wounded in the first few minutes.  3 others were missing and presumed killed in action.  Another with Company F was killed in action.  Bedford lost 20 soldiers that day on the beaches of Normandy, the highest per capita loss that day for any U. S. town.  The U.S. Congress approved placing the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford in recognition of the town's sacrifice.  The Memorial's 88 acre site is designed to preserve the lessons and legacy of D-Day.

The purpose of the Memorial is to “celebrate the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of the Allied forces on D-Day, 6 June 1944” * on the beaches of Normandy, France to begin the liberation of Europe from the tyranny and cruelty of German occupation.  Operation Overlord, the military code name for D-Day, was a massive effort with 12 participating nations, more than 5000 ships and boats of all types transporting troops, 11,000 aircraft and over 150,000 troops landed on the beaches.  Altogether on D-Day, the Allied forces suffered more than 10,000 casualties, including 4500 men killed.  This number was actually less than expected due to superb planning, much practice and preparation of everyone involved and excellent leadership.

A guided tour of the Memorial is a small additional charge but well worth it.  Our guide was a retired Army officer who had studied D-Day and World War II thoroughly and could interpret the symbolism used in the Memorial with ease and with great impact on our group.   


The Memorial has four major components: (1) the early planning and preparation for D-Day in England; (2) the massive crossing of the English Channel and the landings on the Normandy beaches in France; (3) the consolidation of Allied forces and Victory on the beaches; and (4) finally, the push beyond the beaches into Germany and final Victory over the Nazi forces and the rebuilding of postwar Europe.

The above aerial photograph of the Memorial * is the key to understanding the above four components of the Memorial.  The guided tour starts at #1 at the bottom of the largest circle.  This is the area representing planning and preparation, and England, where this took place. The round structure is called a “folly” and is similar to the architecture of both Norfolk House in London and Southwick House in Portsmouth, the primary planning centers for D-Day. 

#2 within the folly is a lifesize statue of the Supreme Allied Commander, American General Dwight D. Eisenhower.  A mosaic map on the folly's ceiling shows the map of the operation that Ike devised. His six principal subordinates are shown as busts with a short essay on their service.
They are: Deputy Supreme Commander—Sir Arthur William Tedder; 
Allied Naval Commander—Admiral Sir Bertram H. Ramsay; 
Allied Air Forces Commander—Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford L. Leigh-Mallory;  
D-Day Assault Commander—Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery; 
U.S. 1^st Army Commander—Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley;
and Chief of Staff—Lt. Gen. Walter Bedell Smith.

#3 shows the pattern of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) shoulder patch, a sword in a shield.

#4,5--The wall leading to the staircases up to the next level have plaques honoring academies and universities that prepared the military leaders.  In other areas, many unit plaques honoring infantry regiments that were involved in the Normandy landings.  

#6—you've now ascended to the next higher level, the Elmon Gray Plaza, which shows the Channel crossing and landings on the beach.  The 5 segments visible on the surface represent the 5 landing beaches—Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. 

#7--The names of men who died on these beaches is shown on the bronze tablets along the Gray plaza walls—U.S. on the western wall and other AEF countries on the eastern wall.

#8 is the large bronze sculpture called “Scaling the Wall” representing the casemates and bunkers that were Hitler's Atlantic Wall.   In the water, 2 hedgehogs are some of the German obstacles placed to sink or disable incoming troop carrying boats.

#9 is a stylized Higgins boat (LCVP) with ramp down having brought troops and their gear into the beaches.

#10 Several very dramatic sculptures in the water show “Through the Surf,”  “Death on Shore,” “Across the Beach” all following the Memorial's themes of valor, fidelity and sacrifice.

Jets of water intermittently shoot up to simulate German machine gun fire.

#11 East of the beach scene, the propellers and scout plane salute the contributions of the AEF's Air Forces on D-Day.

#12  West of the beach scene, a salute to the AEF's Naval Forces on D-Day.  A ship's bell and large Navy anchor are placed nearby.  Bronze tablets salute specific major naval vessels.

#13  The largest sculpture in the Memorial is the Overlord Triumphal Arch that is 44.5 feet in height with the inscription OVERLORD and on its top incorporates the important black and white alternating stripes that identified AEF aircraft during D-Day so they would not be accidentally shot down by friendly forces.

#14  “Final Tribute” is a moving tribute to the 4400 AEF troops killed on D-Day. This sculpture shows a soldier's rifle and bayonet placed in the ground with helmet on top.

#15  The D-Day Memorial Seal or logo is reproduced beneath the Overlord Arch with the inscription “Remembering their Valor, Fidelity and Sacrifice” but in Latin.

#16  On the granite surfaces surrounding the Arch, the names of the five D-Day beaches are shown. The walls surrounding have plaques of the units that came ashore after D-Day.

#17  The flags of all twelve nations of the Allied Expeditionary Force fly in an arc around Estes Plaza. They are:  United States on staff to left, and the others alphabetically: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland and the United Kingdom.

#18  This area shows the dramatic expansion of the liberation from the beaches onto Paris and further into Germany and ultimate Victory.

#19  A large bronze sculpture “Le Monument aux Morts” by Edmond de Laheudrie placed in Trevieres, France dedicated to 44 men of that town who died in World War I.  During World War II's  D-Day, the sculpture's head was hit by an artillery round removing the face, leaving a very dramatic ghostly image.  After World War II, the sculpture with its damage was recast and this sculpture placed in the D-Day Memorial to symbolize the “transience of victory and the fragility of peace” in the days after Normandy to the Cold War.

#20  The Purple Heart Monument was placed by the Military Order of the Purple Heart and the National D-Day Memorial Foundation to salute those receiving a Purple Heart decoration for their

D-Day service.

#21  At the four gates, there are memorial busts of the leaders of the “Big Four” Allied Nations: Winston S. Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Chiang-Kai-shek.  In the smaller circle, are their British and American successors:  Clement R. Atlee and Harry S. Truman.

The National D-Day Memorial is an awe-inspiring tribute to an epic day that changed the outcome of World War II to Victory for the Allies.  Veterans of D-Day are particularly welcome but all veterans and most adults will be moved by a walk through this extremely well executed and very graphic Memorial.  We definitely recommend visiting here while in western Virginia.

For more information, go to the National D-Day Memorial Foundation website.

* from the pamphlet given visitors titled “National D-Day Memorial—Bedford, Virginia, USA” with the Memorial logo above and an 8 man color guard in front of the Overlord structure.

The Bedford County Courthouse in Bedford

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