National D-Day Memorial honors veterans
HONORING FREEDOM — Statue at the National D-Day Memorial depicts a scene of a soldier helping a wounded comrade. Photo credit: Omar Adams
A cloudless blue sky hung over Bedford, Va., as hundreds gathered at the National D-Day Memorial to commemorate all who have answered the call to serve their country. Air Force chaplain Capt. Mike Flores opened the ceremony in prayer thanking God for America’s veterans.
The Department of Defense and Veterans Administration report that over 41 million men and women have served this nation since the first shot at Lexington Green 235 years ago. More than 2.6 million of those veterans have been killed or wounded in the defense of freedom around the world. The National D-Day Memorial is a poignant reminder that the town of Bedford suffered the highest per capita losses of any U.S. town on the beaches of Normandy.
“As the wall of the Korean War veterans memorial in Washington, D.C. states, ‘Freedom is not free,’ ” said Robin Reed, president of the National D-Day Memorial Foundation. “Today we rejoice in the fact that we live in America where the freedoms we enjoy have been so carefully preserved – thanks to you veterans.”
Memorial honors all soldiers wounded during the pursuit of freedom. Photo credit: Omar Adams
Army Jr. ROTC cadets from Chatham and Tunstall high schools bore historical American flags representing veterans past and present, while Carllnisha Johnson sung “The Star Spangled Banner.” A choir from Thomas Jefferson Elementary School performed patriotic songs including an “Armed Forces Salute” during which each veteran in attendance stood when their branch’s song was played.
Veterans of every conflict from World War II through Iraq and Afghanistan attended the ceremony. Bedford Mayor Skip Tharp said he spoke for everyone when he expressed his gratitude for their service.
“I have seen many of these young men and women deployed over the years, and like all of us, I am greatly relieved to welcome them home,” he said. “We cannot repay their devotion to duty, but we can honor them.”
Dozens of little American flags fluttered behind the crowd, marking plaques engraved with the names of 4,391 Allied troops killed in action on D-Day. A nearby plaque is engraved with the letter that the Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Dwight Eisenhower penned to the “Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force.”
“The eyes of the world are upon you,” he said. “The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.”
Eisenhower’s words still ring true today, and many have since echoed his closing prayer.
“Good luck!” he wrote. “And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”
Chairman of the Bedford County Board of Supervisors Roger Cheek echoed Abraham Lincoln’s sentiments in his Gettysburg Address that Americans can do nothing to repay the sacrifice of those who have served – particularly those who have given “the last full measure of devotion.”
“We can never repay that debt, but we can remember,” Cheek said. “Never take your freedom for granted – it was bought with the precious sacrifice of those who put everything at risk to serve this country.”