Andrea.Jarrell Loc: Mount Airy, NC

Yesterday I took a detour from my drive home and spent some time at the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, VA. This memorial is a powerful reminder of the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of so many young lives involved in the landing of the Allied forces at Normandy on 6 June 1944. The memorial has been located in Bedford, VA because the town had the largest per capita loss of young men in the landing. A total of 20 of the rural town's young men met their death on the beaches of Normandy that day. Please enjoy this series of images from the memorial.

Unfortunately the water had all been drained from the beach landing area so the impact of the statues may not be quite the same but they do still maintain a great deal of impact.

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I left this one for last. This one is special and I have the assistance of several UHH members to thank for helping me to bring this image to its very best.

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DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Very nice! Used to go yo Bedford in the early 60's to the Elk's National Home.

Andrea.Jarrell Loc: Mount Airy, NC

Thank you Dave for stopping in to look but you caught it while I was still loading images. I left the best one for last so you might want to take another look. Thank you for your nice comment.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Thank you for a beautiful share. Outstanding set of a great memorial,even caught what I assume is Peaks of the Otter in the background!

Woodsman Loc: North of Peterborough Ontario

Great set. I do not recall seeing images of this outstanding monument before. Thank you for sharing

Andrea.Jarrell Loc: Mount Airy, NC

Thank you Woodsman for the visit and nice comments. This is a fairly new monument and it is situated in a very out the way location. It is truly a monument to all the forces from all the Allied countries who participated in the D-Day invasion. There are plaques lining two separate walls with the names of all the fallen whose names have been verified. One wall (that I displayed) has all the names of the US men who died and the other wall has the names of all the men from the other countries that participated. All the Allied commanders are represented with busts and all the flags are flown over the monument. It is truly a moving tribute and well worth visiting. This was my second visit to the monument.

Andrea.Jarrell Loc: Mount Airy, NC

Thank you Dave for coming back to catch the rest of the images. This is a truly moving memorial and it pays tribute to all the forces represented in the D-Day landings. It probably is the Peaks of Otter in the background.

BrentHarder Loc: Southern California

I agree with woodsman.......best monument photos ever! I would like to see that last one in color to compare with the B&W.

Andrea.Jarrell Loc: Mount Airy, NC

Thank you Brent for taking a look and the nice comments. I have processed the last one in color and I am posting it for comparison. I personally don't think it has the same impact in color that it does in B&W but that is just my personal opinion. Everyone will have their own ideas on what they prefer.

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tejaswrangler Loc: South Texas

Andrea.Jarrell, this is a beautiful collection of pictures, along with a great story of explanation. I enjoyed viewing them. Thanks for sharing. :thumbup: Tejaswrangler :)

ras422 Loc: Virginia

Thanks for posting this wonderful set. Another reminder that freedom isn't free. Rich

phal84 Loc: Huntsville

Thank you for the beautiful set of pictures commemorating our D-Day Veterans!
Perhaps we photographers out there ought to start submitting pictures of all the veteran memorials around the country/world;
we have several nearby in north Alabama/southern Tennessee I could do real quickly; seems like most counties have a veterans memorial near the the town square, courthouse or elsewhere; not to mention historical markers for the Revolutionary War, Civil War, military museums, camps, posts, arsenals, forts, cemeteries, etc.
Just a thought ----

Andrea.Jarrell Loc: Mount Airy, NC

Thank you tejaswrangler for the visit and kind comments. I am really glad you enjoyed these. This is a wonderful memorial that is off the beaten path so it doesn't always get remembered. I had been there once before and knew it would be a great subject to capture.

Andrea.Jarrell Loc: Mount Airy, NC

Thank you ras422 for stopping in and commenting. You echo my thoughts exactly. I think we all need to be reminded often that the freedoms we all enjoy are not free and we need to thank and honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms along with those who have served so bravely and have come home.

Andrea.Jarrell Loc: Mount Airy, NC

Thank you phal84 for the visit and comments. Welcome to UHH. What a wonderful suggestion you have made. You are so right about the all the local memorials around the country. Given the number of photographers here on the forum we could get a collection from across the country. We have a memorial wall here in Mount Airy and one of the high schools built a memorial as well. I think I will go out and capture those. Back in September I photographed a memorial in Hillsville, VA that I did not really do anything with. I can pull those images back up and process them for a local grouping of memorials. We need to remember those who have fought to ensure the freedoms we all enjoy.