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| National D-Day Memorial located in Bedford, Virginia |
Today we remember the past but can celebrate because of the freedom it gave for our future. 75 years ago today, June 6, 1944, the Normandy landings were the landing operations of the allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of German-occupied France and later western Europe from Nazi control and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front.
For Chuck and his family and friends, D-Day is very near and dear to their hearts. Chuck is from Bedford, Virginia. This is the reason we chose Normandy France as one of the locations we wanted to visit. In Normandy, 19 of the 30 boys from Bedford, who landed on the beaches were killed. Four more later died in the Normandy campaign. Because Bedford had the greatest loss of life per capita, they chose Bedford, Virginia to place the National Monument, so named as the D-Day Memorial. Its so beautiful and is created as a true sense of that day. If you walk through it, you can hear the gun shots in the water and see as the soldiers are trying to fight as well as save their own men by pulling them to safety. Its very moving and I recommend anyone visiting near Bedford (between Lynchburg and Roanoke) to visit. You’ll walk away with a true understanding of how this war affected so many. The memorial can be seen from my father in laws front yard. If you’ll like to read more, click here. Many lives were affected during that war. My own sister-in-laws father fought in the war as well and lived a long life but I’m sure his memories were a mix of emotions. If you see anyone in uniform or know of their service as fighting for our country, please thank them. They deserve our appreciation.
I’ll write more about our trip from Spain to France tomorrow. I’m a little behind but have lots to tell you! We are trying to get settled in today and have a few errands to run. We had an exhausting day yesterday and instead of arriving at a decent hour, once again we were scrambling before the grocery store closed to get a few items for breakfast. Stores close here at 8:30 pm. So, planning is appropriate.
Have a great day and may God bless you all!
Chuck & Lea Ann
WorldTravelReynolds 