Servicemen honored
National D-Day Memorial celebrates Veterans Day
Military veterans received a special ceremony at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va., for Veterans Day on Friday, Nov. 11.
Observance — The Virginia Military Institute color guard honors Veterans Day at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va. Photo provided
“Our motto is ‘everyday is Veterans Day,’” April Cheek-Messier said.
As the director of education for the National D-Day Memorial Foundation and chief organizer of the event, Cheek-Messier spoke on the historical and current significance of Veterans Day.
“We spend each and every day thanking veterans,” Cheek-Messier said.
The location of the D-Day Memorial in Bedford is also significant, according to the National D-Day Memorial website.
“Proportionally this community suffered the nation’s severest D-Day losses,” the website states. “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.”
The Veterans Day Observance event merged military forces young and old to honor veterans through special presentations, vocal performances and formal military ceremonies.
“We want to involve young people to show veterans that the young people want to thank them,” Cheek-Messier explained. “We have the Navy, Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), air force and a number of students involved.”
The National D-Day Veterans Event, which took place from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and was open to the public, featured over a dozen schools and included memorable presentations from JROTC and ROTC programs. Captain Michael B. Connolly, a retired state commander from the Military Order of the World Wars, delivered the keynote address at the Memorial.
The AJROTC participants of Chatham High School and Dan River High School presented a march-on while the New Covenant Schools band performed the national anthem for the audience. Children also presented veterans with hand-written thank you cards to show their gratitude.
The National D-Day memorial commemorates the martyrdom of D-Day soldiers and stands as a tribute to their service.
“At this ceremony, we wanted to commemorate this really important day to honor veterans for their patriotism, heroism and sacrifice,” Cheek-Messier said.