In the assault on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, the landing craft in the 
first wave dropped men of Company A of the 116^th infantry Regiment of 
the 29^th Infantry Division. The 29^th was made up of units of the 
National Guard from Virginia and Maryland. The 116th, descended from the 
Stonewall Brigade that fought at First Manassas, was from Virginia, and 
Company A was from Bedford. Few before had seen combat. When the men 
went into the chest high water, with their 60 pound packs, they were 
helpless before the withering German machine gun fire. In moments, there 
was no Able company.

Back in Bedford, it would be three weeks before the teletype machine 
started, “We have casualties…” Twenty-two of Bedfords’s sons had died, 
the highest percentage of any community in America.

Today, in perfect peace, the graveyard at Saint Laurent Sur-Mere 
stretches along the bluffs overlooking the landing beaches. Its precise 
rows of white tombstones record the names of 9,387 men who will never 
leave France. But we do not forget them, or the lives they gave.

-- 
Richard E. Dixon 12106 Beaver Creek Road Clifton, VA 20124
  The Virginia Presidents: A Travel and History Guide

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