Hiking with a Fat Bald White Guy: D-Day National Memorial Bedford Virginia

BEDFORD BOYS

A VISIT TO THE NATIONAL D-DAY MEMORIAL

On June 6, 1944, forty-four members of a small town in southwest Virginia participated in Operation Overlord. Thirty-Seven were members of Company A 116th Regiment 29th Division of the United States Army. Twenty boys from Bedford, Virginia lost their lives storming the beaches of Normandy, nineteen died on the first day. The statue pictured here is titled "Homage" and is emblematic of the feeling of loss which every community in the nation feels when one of its boys does not come home.

The Memorial was dedicated on June 6, 2001 and is a solemn tribute to those who fought and died in Operation Overlord. The Memorial begins with a long avenue which leads to a large oval shaped plaza.

At the entrance to the avenue stands a macabre statue named, Le Monument aux Morts donated by the citizens of France depicting a faceless warring angel of death.

Surrounding the Overlord Arch are the flags of the Allied Forces who participated in the Normandy Invasion. In the distance the Peaks of Otter stand as silent sentinels to the memorial.

Inside the arch is Final Tribute, a statue of a battle grave of a fallen soldier and the seal depicting the nations involved in the invasion.

The Latin inscription: Ad commemorandum fortitudinem, fidelitatem, sacrificumeorum means "Remembering their valor, fidelity and sacrifice.

Valor is symbolized by the Lion, Fidelity is symbolized by the Dog and Sacrifice is symbolized by the Pelican. Asking about the Pelican? Seems that if there is no food available for their young, Pelicans will tear their own flesh and feed it to their young. Who knew?

On the lower level, the plaza is enclosed on the far side by an arch shaped wall with the name of every Allied soldier who died on D-Day. This arch frames the waterfall beneath the Overlord Arch in front of which are statues that depict the beaches of Normandy.

The statue Scaling the Wall is a dramatic display of the courage and initiative of those soldiers who fought across the beaches and scaled the seawalls to break through the German defenses.

Within the statues illustrating the storming of the beach are contained the elements of valor, fidelity and sacrifice. Unique to presentation are spouts of water which depict bullets hitting the water.

The part of the statue illustrating sacrifice is the soldier who lies dead on the beach. A young man, whose life was cut short in the seconds after stepping onto the beach.

The sculptor hearing the story of a Bedford Boy who was killed on the beach but whose body was washed to sea and never recovered learned that the soldier's backpack was recovered and returned to his family. In it was a Bible given to the soldier when he was deployed. To honor this soldier, the sculptor places an open Bible next to the slain soldier on the beach

If you look carefully at the "Homage" statue you will see a subtle tribute made by the sculptor to soldiers missing in action. Unlike the statue "Final Tribute", there are no dog tags hanging from the spiked gun on "Homage".

To get a better understanding of the invasion, a plaque depicting the invasion route is on the wall. Noted thereon is "dog green" which was the route taken by the Bedford Boys and was the site depicted in the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan.

Beyond the memorial wall is a flower adorned garden which depicts an English garden and is surrounded by the busts of the principle commanders of the invasion. The garden is designed to reflect the insignia of the invasion worn on the sleeves of those who participated in D Day.

In the middle of the garden is the shape of the sword on the emblem, and multicolored flowers are planed to reflect the rainbow at the top of the emblem depicting the color of each flag of the nations who contributed to the invasion.

At the far end of the garden is a gazebo with the statue of the General Dwight D. Eisenhower. On the ceiling of the gazebo is the invasion map of Operation Overlord.

The map was so secret that planners hired a toy company to make the map into a jigsaw puzzle. Two days before the invasions two employees of the toy company were summoned to put the puzzle together by gluing the pieces on the wall of the briefing room.

Surrounding the garden are crepe myrtles which were in full bloom. Using them to frame the distant Sharp Top Mountain, I unexpectedly captured the head and shoulders of the Homage statue, which makes it seem for the moment that one of the Bedford Boys has returned home.

As we were leaving the memorial, I paused to listen to the last comments of a tour guide who pointed out a significant feature of the statue which guards the entrance to the memorial. It depicts a soldier dragging a wounded comrade to safety.

On the hand of the soldier is a gold wedding ring which was donated by a widow of one of the Bedford Boys. For me this statue completed the memorial. The ultimate sacrifice, the life ended too soon, the family devastated, the courage, the horror, the pride...all these feelings illustrated by this simple ring.

Go and visit this place. Take a young person with you. Tell them of those you know who were part of the Greatest Generation. Make them marvel with you of what men they were. And make sure we kindle within the soul of this country the courage, the commitment, and love for our fellow man, that we are willing to make this sacrifice again if required.

"Men, I am not a religious man and don't know your feelings in this matter, but I am going to ask you to pray with me for the success of the mission before us. And as we pray, get on your knees and not look down, but up, with faces raised to the sky, so we can see God, and ask his blessing in what we are about to do."

"God, Almighty, in a few short hours we shall be in battle with the enemy. We do not join this battle afraid. We ask not for favor or indulgence, but ask, if You will, use us as an instrument for right and aid in returning peace to the world."

Lt. Col. Robert Wolverton

Amen!