06JUN1944: Set to land in the first wave, A Company of the 116th Infantry Regiment was tasked with taking the critical D-1 draw in the Dog Green sector of Omaha Beach. The draw was the only paved exit off Omaha beach and well protected by three concrete strongpoints. A National Guard unit, much of the 116th came from Virginia, many having trained together well before the war broke out. Additionally, A Co contained 35 members from Bedford, a small VA down of just 4,000. As A company sped towards shore, they watched rockets land nearly 1,000m from shore. Add that misstep to the naval gunfire that didn't penetrate the German defenses and the bomber runs that dropped their payload too far inland. The result? A Co would come ashore on a near-pristine beach into the fields of fire of the waiting German defenders. Nearing the beach, the men of A Co felt the brunt of years of defensive preparations. Multiple landing craft were destroyed with their entire crews aboard. Those that did reach shore lowered ramp into devastating German fire. Men jumped overboard to avoid the gunfire forcing many to quickly drown without firing a shot. The chaos of D-Day and Omaha Beach specifically makes casualty tallies difficult but it's estimated that within 7-10 minutes of landing, A Co was almost entirely wiped out. By the end of the day, only 18 of 230 Soldiers from the company were not casualties. 19 Bedford men were killed in the opening minutes of the battle, a staggering figure for a town that size. In recognition of their sacrifice, the national D-Day memorial was placed in Bedford, VA.

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