SEC Member Newsletter June 2016

D-Day Memorial: A place for history, remembering and offering thanks

Driving through the gatesand up the winding roadthat stretches nearly amile to The Na8onal D-Day Memor ia l , flagsappeartotheright.

First, there’s a large StarsandStripesblowinginthewind on this breezy,spring aCernoon. A liElefurtherupthehill,otherswavefrompolesarrangedin an arc. The flagsrepresent the UnitedK i n g d o m , C a n a d a ,Belgium, Netherlands,Australia,Poland,Greece,France, Czechoslovakia,Norway,NewZealandandtheUnitedStates,alliesinWorld War II. The flagsc a t c h A p r i l C h e e k -

Messier’seyeasshecomestothememorial, locatedoffofU.S.460 inBedfordCounty inthewesternendofSouthsideElectricCoopera8ve’sservicearea.

ThepresidentofTheNa8onalD-DayMemorialFounda8onsaystheAlliedflagsremindherofthe well-planned, enormous and successful invasion of France on June 6, 1944. They alsoremindherofthehighcostpaidbytheAlliedna8ons—thealmost10,000casual8es,including4,413dead—thatday,now72yearsago.

“Their liveswerenot invain,”Cheek-Messiersays.“Tothisday,weareenjoyingourfreedombecauseofwhatwasgainedthatday.”

AprilCheek-Messier(above),presidentofTheNa;onalD-DayMemorialFounda;on,standsinGrayPlaza.Theflooroftheplazaisdividedintofivesec;ons,areferencetothefivelandingbeaches:

Utah,Gold,Juno,OmahaandSword.

SEC Member Newsletter June 2016

TheD-DayinvasionoftheNormandybeachesknownasUtah,Gold,Juno,OmahaandSwordledtotheendofNazityrannyinEurope,althoughGermanydidn’tsurrenderun8lMay1945.TheAlliedmoveintooccupiedFrance,calledOverlord,involvedover5,000ships,11,000planesandmore than 150,000 military personnel. It con8nues to be the largest-ever air, land and seainvasion.

WithinviewoftheBlueRidgeMountains,TheNa8onalD-DayMemorialwasdedicatedJune6,2001,byPresidentGeorgeW.Bush.

The hilltop memorial includestheOverlordArch,whichstands44½ feet tall and featuresalterna8ng black-and-whitestripesthatwereseenonAlliedaircraC. A plaza represents thecrossing of the English Channeland the landing in France.Statuesshowonesoldier in thewater,whileotherspushtowardand climb the high beach cliffs.One soldier lays dead on thebeach. German “hedgehogs”create obstacles for the Alliedlanding craCs. Water randomlyshoots up, represen8ng enemybullets aimed at the invadingforce.

Across the manicured grounds,numerous bronze plaques pay tribute to individuals, military divisions and all of the AlliedservicememberskilledonJune6,1944.OtherplaquesprovidefactsaboutD-Day.Thememorialincludes busts of Allied leaders and a full-figure statue of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, thesupremecommanderofD-Day.Among thesculptures is “Homage,”whichpays tribute to thecommuni8esthathadtheirresidentsserveinWorldWarII,someofwhomdidn’tcomehome.

Notabletothememorial’sloca8oninBedfordisthatthecommunityhadthehighestper-capitaD-DaylossesintheUnitedStates.Thecountylost20menonD-Day.

Oneveteraninpar8cularwhowasatOmahaBeachandmadeithomewasJohnRobert(Bob)Slaughter,who ini8ated theeffort tohave thememorial inBedford.Slaughter,whowas fromnearbyRoanoke,passedawayinMay2012.Abustatthememorialhonorshim.

Cheek-Messier notes, however, that the memorial is not just for her home community ofBedford.

Thenamesofthe4,413AlliedservicememberskilledonD-Day,including2,499Americans,arememorializedonbronze

plaques.

SEC Member Newsletter June 2016

“It’s the na8onalmemorial. It’s an interna8onalmemorial. Thememorial represents all whopar8cipatedintheNormandyinvasionin1944.”Sheaddsthatcommuni8esacrossAmericaandaroundtheworldhadtheirresidentspar8cipateintheinvasion.Shesaystheyallsacrificed.

“NoonewasleCuntouchedfromthewar,”shesays.

SiingatatableonthegiCshopdeck,Cheek-Messiersaysforveteranswhovisit,thememorialisaplaceofsolitude,reflec8onandhealing.And,sheadds,inspira8on.

Sherecallsmee8ngasoldierwhowasonhiswaytohisfourthdeploymentinAfghanistan.Shesayshetoldherhecametothememorialeach8metoconnecttothosewhohadservedbeforehimandtobeinspired.

WhileaboutapivotalpointinWorldWarII,Cheek-MessiersaysTheNa8onalD-DayMemorialaims to recognize all veterans who have served America. She says the Vietnam TravelingMemorialWallhasvisited,and thememorialhashighlightedachievementsofvariousservicemembers,includingpromo8onsandre8rements.

“I think it’s really a place people can come to say thank you to thosewho have served andcon8nuetoserve,”shenotes.

AlargecrowdgathersforoneofTheNa;onalD-DayMemorial’smanyevents.OnJune6,thememorialwillrecognizethe72ndanniversaryoftheNormandyinvasion.

SEC Member Newsletter June 2016

As the years pass, America is losingmore andmore of itsWorldWar II veterans,making itimportanttopreservetheir legacy,Cheek-Messiersays.Shewantstobeabletopassontheirstories, and collect and display their ar8facts. She notes the average age of aWorldWar IIveteranis93.

Cheek-Messier,whohasmaster’sdegrees inhistoryandEnglish,sayswhenshestartedastheeduca8oncoordinatoratthememorial16yearsago,WorldWarIIveteranswereavailableforevery program. Now, it’s a “treasure”when students visi8ng thememorial get to hear fromsomeonewhowasatD-DayorinWorldWarII.StudentsfromacrossVirginiaandsurrounding

statesvisitthememorial.

“Wetrytopassitontothekids,keepthememory alive,” says Bill Jackson, one ofthe memorial’s volunteer tour guides.Jackson served in the United States AirForce,althoughnotinWorldWarII.

Adds Roger Lewis, another tour guide, “Ithinkthekidsneedtoknowthatfreedomisn’t free.” Lewis also served in the AirForce,butnotinWorldWarII.

About 55,000 people visit the memorialeachyear.Aguidedtourisincludedinthe8cket price, which is $10 for the generalpublic.

Coming up on June 6, 2016, will be the72nd anniversary of the D-Day invasion.Thememorialwillhostaspecialceremonyat 11 a .m. featur ing remarks byrepresenta8ves from several foreignembassies, generals and aD-Day veteran.For the first 8me ever at any place, thenamesof all of the2,499AmericanswhodiedonD-Daywillbereadinalphabe8calorder. That will start at 12:30 p.m. andtakeaboutfivehours.

Cheek-Messiersaysthememorialnexthopestocollectphotosofallofthe4,413AlliedservicememberswhodiedonD-Day.Aneduca8oncenterwithspacetodisplaythememorial’smorethan10,000ar8facts,amphitheaterandspaceforthecommunityareincludedinfutureplans.

The Na8onal D-Day Memorial gets no state or federal funding, depending only on privatedona8ons,fundraisingeventsandadmissionfees.ItisnotpartoftheNa8onalParkService.

The“Homage”sculpturerecognizescommuni;esthatsentresidentstoserveinWorldWarII.

SEC Member Newsletter June 2016

The memorial is open daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., except for Monday closings in DecemberthroughFebruary,Thanksgiving,ChristmasandNewYear’sDay.

For more informa+on about the memorial, call 1-800-351-DDAY or visit the websitewww.dday.org.

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