Richard:
Thanks for this. Thanks for posting it.
******************
PaulFinkelman, Ph.D.
President
GRATZ COLLEGE
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On Wednesday, June 6, 2018, 10:41:53 AM EDT, Richard Dixon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
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.
Back in Bedford, it would be three weeks before the teletype machine
started, “We have casualties…” Twenty-two of Bedford’s sons had died,
the highest percentage of any community in America.
Today, in perfect peace, the graveyard at Colleville-sur-Mer stretches
along the bluffs overlooking the landing beaches. Its precise rows of
white crosses record the names of 9,385 men who will never leave France.
But we do not forget them, or the lives they gave.
--
Richard E. Dixon
"The Virginia Presidents: A Travel and History Guide"
571-748-7660
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