… and the story begins like this:
BEDFORD, Va. – U.S. and French flags adorned lamp posts along this rural community’s quaint Main Street as thousands gathered to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day on a warm, sunny day in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Bedford, home to the National D-Day Memorial, was also home to the “Bedford Boys,” 30 National Guard soldiers who joined tens of thousands in storming the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. An astounding 19 of the local men perished, giving this town of fewer than 7,000 the most casualties per capita in the nation.
Two miles from the center of town, the memorial looms large, punctuated by an imposing stone arch at its center. Vice President Mike Pence delivered the keynote speech, marveling at the courage of veterans and praising the Bedford Boys as “hometown folk who became national heroes.”
The crowd that gathered was a mix of families with young children, older military veterans in leather biker jackets and service members in full uniform. Some chatted and laughed among themselves, others solemnly read the plaques commemorating those who gave their lives that day.
Click here to read USA Today’s full story.
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