Va. Guard joins tribute to D-Day at 69th anniversary observance - June 6, 2013

Senior Virginia National Guard leaders and Soldiers from the Lynchburg-based 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team pay tribute to the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of D-Day participants at the observance of the 69th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy June 6, 2013 at Bedford Elementary School in Bedford, Va. Heavy ranges forced a venue change from the National D-Day Memorial to the school. Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Long, Jr., the Adjutant General of Virginia and former 29th Infantry Division commander, and Maj. Gen. Charles W. Whittington, Jr., current commander of the 29th Infantry Division, laid memorial wreathes, and 1st Battalion Soldiers provided a color guard for the event and also assisted with the wreath presentations.

Like eleven other Virginia communities, Bedford provided a company of Soldiers to form Company A, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division when the National Guard's 116th was activated on Feb. 3, 1941, and 19 of the "Bedford Boys" died during the assault on Omaha Beach. Bedford's population in 1944 was about 3,200, and proportionally the Bedford community suffered the nation's most severe 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 in Bedford, and this year's event marked the 11th anniversary of the historic site's dedication.