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National D-Day Memorial

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2000, Dickson Architects and Associates. 3 Overlord Cir.
  • (Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress)
  • (Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress)

As part of the nation's revived interest in the construction of war memorials honoring veterans, the National D-Day Memorial Foundation raised funds for this monument to commemorate the World War II soldiers of D-Day. Bedford was chosen as the site of the National D-Day Memorial because on that day it lost more soldiers per capita than any other American community. The Town of Bedford donated eleven acres of land for the memorial. Within the spacious drive that encircles the memorial, the most dramatic components are the Overlord Arch plaza and the large plaza commemorating the Landing on D-Day. The arch is an evocation of the invasion's code name, Overlord. Its colors of black and white were those used to identify the Allied Forces' planes on D-Day. Jim Brothers of Kansas sculpted the memorial's tableau of young soldiers at the beach landings. It presents a dramatic and unusually realistic presentation of the tragic aspects of the invasion.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Anne Carter Lee
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Data

What's Nearby

Bedford Elementary School
Bedford Historic Meeting House
Bedford Presbyterian Church
North Bridge Street Commercial Buildings
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Citation

Anne Carter Lee, "National D-Day Memorial", [Bedford, Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-02-BD17.

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