President Dwight D. Eisenhower
was a five-star general during WWII.
“It makes you feel pretty proud when
you have the chance to participate in
something great like this. It’s something
that goes beyond just this certain area, but
across the nation.”
BETTMANN/CORBIS
— DON RYDER, DIRECTOR OF GOLF AT OMNI HOMESTEAD
Thus the inaugural National D-Day
Memorial Golf Classic was born.
“There’s so much history between the
Memorial and golf, especially at the Omni
Homestead,” said April Cheek-Messier,
President of the D-Day Memorial Foundation. “Just look at some of the visitors
they’ve had, including President Roosevelt.
A golf tournament is a fun way to tie the two
together and is a great way to raise awareness for the D-Day Memorial Foundation
and its veterans, all while having fun.”
HISTORY OF D-DAY IN VIRGINIA
In order to fully understand the impact
World War II veterans had on our nation,
w w w. v s g a . o r g
you must first revisit that decade.
World War II pulled brothers, sons, fathers
and uncles into a war in order to stop the
European invasion. Locally, there was a large
impact, too.
For Bedford, Virginia, D-Day was
especially devastating. Of the 37 assigned to
Company A of the 116th Infantry Regiment,
29th Division, 31 loaded into the landing
craft and headed for Omaha Beach in the
first wave. En route, the landing craft struck
an obstacle and sank, stranding dozens far
from shore, including five of Bedford’s boys.
The remaining 26 successfully reached
Omaha Beach, where 16 were killed and
four wounded within a matter of minutes.
Three others were unaccounted for and later
presumed killed in action. Another Bedford
boy was killed in action elsewhere on Omaha
Beach with Company F, bringing Bedford’s
D-Day fatalities to a total of 20.
In comparison with its 1940s population,
Bedford suffered the nation’s severest per
capita D-Day loss.
Recognizing Bedford as emblematic of all
communities, large and small, whose citizensoldiers served on D-Day, Congress warranted
the establishment of the National D-Day
Memorial in this rural community. It has been
seven decades since our World War II veterans
gave the gift of freedom and hope to a world
held captive by fear and despair.
J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 5 | V I R G I N I A G O L F E R
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