CONTENT WARNING
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation.
Context
On June 6, 1944, soldiers of the Allied Expeditionary Force stormed the beaches of Normandy as part of Operation Overlord, often referred to as D-Day. Approximately 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The amphibious invasions began at 6:30 a.m. The British and Canadians captured beaches codenamed Gold, Juno and Sword, as the Americans captured Utah Beach. U.S. forces faced heavy resistance at Omaha Beach, where there were over 2,000 American casualties. According to some estimates, over 4,000 Allied troops lost their lives in the invasion.
Thirty soldiers from Bedford, Virginia, members of Company A of the 116th Infantry, assaulted Omaha Beach. By the end of the campaign and subsequent military action in Normandy, twenty-one soldiers from Bedford had died. The population of Bedford at this time was about 3,200, so this community suffered a larger proportional loss of population during the D-Day and Normandy Invasion campaigns than any other place in the US. The Personal War Service Records of Virginia's War Dead, part of the records of the Virginia World War II History Commission at the Library of Virginia, documents the sacrifice of 15 of the 19 Bedford soldiers, and includes the service record of John L. Wilkes.
Citation: Wilkes, John L., Bedford County, Personal War Service Record of Virginia's War Dead, Virginia World War II History Commission, Box 3, Folder 3, Accession 24805. State Records Collection, Library of Virginia (photograph).
Citations/For Further Reading:
Learn more about Bedford County and D-Day in The UncommonWealth blog.
The National D-Day Memorial
Thirty soldiers from Bedford, Virginia, members of Company A of the 116th Infantry, assaulted Omaha Beach. By the end of the campaign and subsequent military action in Normandy, twenty-one soldiers from Bedford had died. The population of Bedford at this time was about 3,200, so this community suffered a larger proportional loss of population during the D-Day and Normandy Invasion campaigns than any other place in the US. The Personal War Service Records of Virginia's War Dead, part of the records of the Virginia World War II History Commission at the Library of Virginia, documents the sacrifice of 15 of the 19 Bedford soldiers, and includes the service record of John L. Wilkes.
Citation: Wilkes, John L., Bedford County, Personal War Service Record of Virginia's War Dead, Virginia World War II History Commission, Box 3, Folder 3, Accession 24805. State Records Collection, Library of Virginia (photograph).
Citations/For Further Reading:
Learn more about Bedford County and D-Day in The UncommonWealth blog.
The National D-Day Memorial
Standards
Social Studies: VS.10, USII.6, VUS.14
English: 4.7, 5.7
English: 4.7, 5.7
Suggested Questions
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the images, What information can you infer from the way the man is dressed? What would you guess his age was?
Post Activities
Look at It: Look at the images, What information can you infer from the way the man is dressed? What would you guess his age was?
Post Activities
Be the Journalist: Write an editorial of short news article as if you were the Editor- in Chief of a local Bedford newspaper on the one-year anniversary D-Day. How would you commemorate the sacrifice of your fellow citizens?
Analyze: View the records of Bedford residents, including John Wilkes's questionnaire in The UncommonWealth blog. What similarities do you see in their pre-war occupations, ages, and personal information?