A small town’s D-Day legacy

In the opening hours of the D-Day invasion, the small town of Bedford, Va., lost 19 National Guard soldiers.

Bedford, located below the Blue Ridge Mountains, suffered the greatest proportion of losses of any municipality in the United States. The town soon became a national symbol of sacrifice during World War II.

As the survivors with Company A of the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division, returned home after the war, the town went about its business. Families grieved in private. The substantial losses weren’t discussed in public. There were no memorials memorializing the casualties during Operation Overlord.

That changed when the National D-Day Memorial opened in Bedford on June 6, 2001. Serving as the national memorial for American D-Day veterans, it was built as a tribute “to the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of Allied Forces on D-Day, June 6, 1944.” 

American Legion Post 54, which dates back to 1919, played an instrumental role in the memorial. The post helped raise funds. Members serve as tour guides. And they regularly arrange tours for American Legion leadership and others.

“A lot of the Bedford boys who survived were members of the post, including officers,” said Nick Soukhanov, an Air Force veteran and post commander. “We knew them personally.”

About a mile away from the memorial is the Bedford Boys Tribute Center. While the national memorial focuses on the entirety of D-Day, the downtown tribute center is a museum dedicated to honoring the town’s role. It is located in the former Green’s Drugstore, where back in the day teenagers would gather, socialize and gossip at the soda fountains.

Visitors learn the personal stories of the soldiers, their families and the community that quietly grieved their loss.

Soukhanov has considered Bedford his hometown since 1968. “I never knew anything about Bedford’s contributions to D-Day until after my wife and I relocated here permanently in 1989,” he said. “It’s amazing that this small community had the highest attrition rate. The town has a patriotic tenor. We just kind of blended right in.”

American Legion National Commander Paul E. Dillard came away impressed after touring the memorial during his trip to the Department of Virginia on June 29.

"It's hard for us to imagine what it was truly like back in June 1944, as freedom and democracy were in peril," he said. "And that is why it is so critical that we remember and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us and future generations. The town of Bedford and Post 54 are prime examples of demonstrating what The American Legion means when it comes to preserving the memories of all wars."

The sacrifices Bedford made on D-Day are not as well known as they probably should be.

"The Bedford Boys need to be remembered," Dillard said. "Bedford resembles what many of us think about when we think about small town America in the 1940s. But their sacrifices are unique. It was an honor to be here to pay tribute to the Bedford Boys and the town itself for their role in preserving our way of life."

Post 54 member James Morrison’s contributions to keeping the story alive includes volunteering as a tour guide and authoring a book, “Bedford Goes to War.”

“I've always been very supportive of the military,” said Morrison, an Army veteran. “This is a chance for me to honor the people who have gone before us. It's of interest to me, but also a way to promote history and honor people.”