D-Day Memorial

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D-Day Memorial commemorates 67th anniversary of D-Day and its 10 year anniversary

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Credit: Parker Michels-Boyce/The News & Advance

WWII reenactors (from left) Matt Wiggins, Don Collins and Jonathan Woosley, from North Carolina, stand in uniforms reflecting the 82nd Airborne Division, members of which were involved with Operation Neptune, during the 10th anniversary ceremony at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va., June 6, 2011.

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By JUSTIN FAULCONER 
Published: June 06, 2011

BEDFORD --

As one of just 16 living World War II Medal of Honor recipients, Hershel “Woody” Williams received a standing ovation from the hundreds of people gathered at the National D-Day Memorial on Monday.

 “I accept that, not for myself,” the 87-year-old Marine veteran said after the applause, “but I accept it for all those Marines and others who never got to come home.”

 Williams was a featured speaker for the memorial’s commemoration of the 67th anniversary of D-Day and the 10-year milestone of its dedication.

Williams, who was awarded the medal for actions against Japanese forces at Iwo Jima, said many veterans attending Monday were there because of “miracles in our lives.” He was among the 464 to receive the prestigious medal; 266 were awarded posthumously.

“World War II, in my estimation, was a miracle,” said Williams, of West Virginia, to gatherers. “If you had looked at us in 1938-1939 and expected us to win a war, you probably would have said, ‘that ain’t possible…’ But a miracle happened.”

 The memorial was located in Bedford due to the area’s heavy loss at D-Day: 19 of its “Bedford Boys” in Company A of the 116th Infantry Regiment died in the first minutes of the invasion, the highest per capita loss in the country.

Memorial foundation chairman Michael Moorman paid tribute in his remarks to two people who were key in bringing the memorial to Bedford.

Lucille Boggess, a Bedford County resident who lost two brothers at D-Day and was a past foundation officer, was recognized Monday as an emeritus foundation director.

So was Bob Slaughter, of Roanoke, who fought at D-Day in Company D and was a driving force behind establishing the memorial.  Slaughter was foundation chairman from 1994 to 2001.

The memorial has received more than 1.2 million visitors and held hundreds of events in its first decade but is facing uncertainties in finances; the foundation operates nearly 80 percent on donations and the down economy has affected giving.

A proposal to have the National Park Service oversee its operation currently is under study, though a report is not expected until late 2012.

Memorial foundation president Robin Reed said the foundation has “faced and overcome many trials and tribulations” while comforting and educating many people in the past decade.

U.S. Rep. Robert Hurt, R-5th District, said Monday the memorial captures the agony and legacy “in its bronze men whose broken bodies lie at rest in the sand, whose strength and fortitude push them up and over the cliffs toward the strong and soaring granite arch that represents sacrifice, victory and peace.”

He said on June 6, 1944 the nation “dug deeply for the cause of freedom” as fathers, sons and husbands went into the “unimaginable fury of hell.”

“The stories are hard to tell, the stories are hard to hear, but it is important that we listen to these stories and that we never forget the sacrifices of those who fought on that day,” Hurt said. “We need those lessons now more than ever.”

The nation “was a different place” when the memorial opened in 2001 just a few months before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Hurt said, and thousands of soldiers serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and across the world embody the spirit of the attraction.

“We must remember that today’s soldier follows in the footsteps of those who have gone before,” Hurt said. “To those of you today who are veterans, the proud granite arch behind me is a physical tribute to your legacy. But, frankly, the more important legacy you have given us is freedom and it is the example you have set for those who defend us today.”

Charles Toms, a veteran of the Navy from Maryland, attended Monday’s ceremony. He said he can remember unloading soldiers into the water 67 years ago; at any given time the memories can return fresh and he still sees the bodies of fallen soldiers and what was taking place on the beach, he said.

“I’ll never forget it.”