The National D-Day Memorial

One of the best stops this summers motorcycle trip was the National D-day Memorial in Bedford Virginia.  Traveling from Tennessee to Pennsylvania through Virginia I found this unplanned gem.  Riding through the Virginia Country Side to get to this memorial was an unforgettable experience.  A memorial to the greatest battle of World War II.  The invasion of continental Europe the Normandy Landings was the pivotal battle that returned freedom to Europe.  The Memorial is completely funded through private donations organized by D-day Veterans themselves.

Some people say why Bedford?  Well here is the answer; “Bedford’s population in 1944 was about 3,200. Proportionally this community suffered the nation's severest D-Day losses. Recognizing Bedford as emblematic of all communities, large and small, whose citizen-soldiers served on D-Day, Congress warranted the establishment of the National D-day Memorial here."  24 of 34 soldiers from Bradford were killed during the D-Day Invasion inspiring the movie saving Private Ryan.

The memorial is a remarkable place on a grand in scale.  “The memorial is a continuum of three distinct plazas which follow on a time line. The first plaza, Reynolds's Garden, symbolizes the planning and preparation activities for the invasion through the execution of the order for the invasion. It is in the shape of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force combat patch. The second level, Gray Plaza, reflects the landing and fighting stages of the invasion. It includes what is called the invasion pool with beach obstacles in the water, sculptures of soldiers struggling ashore, and a representation of the Higgins craft used for the invasion. This section includes intermittent jets of water spurting from the pool replicating the sights and sounds of sporadic gunfire. The names of the United States' losses appear on the west necrology wall of the central plaza, the rest of the Allies' losses on the east necrology wall. In the spirit of Dwight D. Eisenhower's one-team command philosophy for the AEF, no other distinctions are made.  The last and uppermost plaza, Estes Plaza, celebrates victory and includes the Overlord Arch and the twelve flags of those Allied nations that served in the Allied Expeditionary Force. The Overlord Arch represents the victory of Operation Overlord and bears the invasion date of June 6, 1944 in its height at 44 feet.”

In today’s world of self it is hard to imagine such sacrifice.  It is a tribute to the greatest generation who sacrificed so much and asked for so little.   The memorial is a small enduring testament to the 9000 Allied Forces that died during this fateful operation.