Spotlight: D-Day

D-Day, June 6, 1944, marked what many historians call “the beginning of the end of World War II,” the Allied invasion of Nazi‑occupied France. On that day, more than 150,000 Allied troops crossed the English Channel and landed on five beaches in Normandy—Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword—the largest amphibious invasion in history. As the landings were occurring, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill described the mission as follows:“This vast operation is undoubtedly the most complicated and difficult that has ever occurred. It involves tides, wind, waves, visibility, both from the air and the sea standpoint, and the combined employment of land, air and sea forces in the highest degree of intimacy and in contact with conditions which could not and cannot be fully foreseen.”

The preparation for D-Day spanned many months. The Allied decision to mount the invasion was finalized at the Tehran Conference in late 1943. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was designated Supreme Allied Commander shortly thereafter. By May 1944, over 2.8 million Allied troops were assembled in southern England. General Eisenhower made the final decision to proceed with the invasion on June 6^th. Prior to the landings, he issued a printed Order of the Day, which was distributed to the troops. Eisenhower wrote:

“You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”

The D-Day invasion began shortly after midnight when more than 13,000 American, British, and Canadian paratroopers started to drop into Normandy. Their mission was to take control of nearby towns and secure transport routes from the beaches. Several hours later, Allied naval forces situated offshore commenced large-scale bombardment of German coastal defenses. At 6:00 a.m., 270 U.S. bombers dropped 4,404 bombs along the Normandy coast. At dawn, the amphibious assault began, utilizing over 5,000 Allied ships and landing craft. The first waves of troops to reach the beaches faced heavy fire from the Germans resulting in massive casualties, but the Allied forces persisted. By the end of the day, the Allies had secured contiguous footholds on each of the five targeted beaches, a major triumph for the Allied forces, setting the stage for the liberation of Western Europe and defeat of Nazi Germany.

The victory was not without cost. After years of research, the National D-Day Memorial Foundation believes there were 4,414 Allied soldiers, sailors, airmen, and members of the Coast Guard killed during the 24 hour period of D-Day. In the late 1980s, U.S. veterans who had served on D-Day became concerned with the lack of public awareness of the significant events that occurred on June 6, 1944. They successfully lobbied Congress to designate a National D-Day Memorial. Rural Bedford, Virginia was chosen as the memorial site because it suffered the highest per capita D-Day loss of any community in the United States. The story of the “Bedford Boys” is a somber one. In 1944, the town’s population hovered around 3,200.  On D-Day, there were 44 Bedford men on active duty. Thirty-seven of these young men belonged to Company A of the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division. Of those, 31 loaded into landing craft and headed for Omaha Beach as a part of the first wave. The remainder belonged to supply details and would arrive later. Five of the Bedford boys were stranded when their landing craft struck an obstacle and sank. The remaining 26 from the first wave successfully reached Omaha Beach, where 16 were killed and 4 wounded within a matter of minutes. Three others were unaccounted for and presumed killed in action. Another Bedford soldier was killed in action elsewhere on Omaha Beach with Company F, bringing Bedford’s D-Day fatalities to a total of 20.  

Although designated a national monument, the National D-Day Memorial did not receive any federal funding for construction. The D-Day Memorial Foundation launched a nationwide fundraising campaign, chaired by Peanuts cartoonist and World War II veteran Charles Schulz. The Memorial was completed in phases, with a groundbreaking held on Veterans Day 1997. It is built on a mixture of sand from the coast of Normandy and Bedford soil. The Memorial was dedicated on June 6, 2001, with President George W. Bush in attendance, and it is celebrating its 25^th Anniversary in 2026. The Memorial is generally open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., however, it is closed for designated holidays and on Mondays from December through February.

President Ronald Reagan spoke at Omaha Beach on the 40^th Anniversary of D-Day, noting that the men who stormed the beaches that day “came not as conquerors, but as liberators. When these troops swept across the French countryside and into the forests of Belgium and Luxembourg they came not to take, but to return what had been wrongly seized. When our forces marched into Germany they came not to prey on a brave and defeated people, but to nurture the seeds of democracy among those who yearned to be free again.” Reagan concluded his remarks with the promise, “We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may be always free.”