D-Day veterans reflect on landing anniversary
"The beauty of Bedford, Virginia, is breathtaking in its natural splendor, but unseen is a lingering sadness.
Marguerite Cottrell recalled the painful moment a stranger appeared carrying terrible news nearly 75 years ago.
“I remember the day we got the message,” Cottrell said. “I knew something was wrong when this man delivered a letter."
The letter was a piece of paper that ravaged her family.
“I said, 'What was wrong?' And she said, 'Little Jack is gone,'” Cottrell said. “I said, ‘Gone?' She said, 'Jesus got my little boy now.'”
"They were part of Company A of the 116th Regiment of the 29th Division, and the first wave of American soldiers to hit the beaches in Normandy. Later in the campaign, three more boys from this small Virginia town died of gunshot wounds. Twenty-two sons of Bedford lost—it is a story one cannot easily forget and one that the families of Bedford will never forget.
"The Bedford Boys is the true and intimate story of these men and the friends and families they left behind. Based on extensive interviews with survivors and relatives, as well as diaries and letters, Kershaw's book focuses on several remarkable individuals and families to tell one of the most poignant stories of World War II—the story of one small American town that went to war and died on Omaha Beach."
"The Bedford Boys is the true and intimate story of these men and the friends and families they left behind. Based on extensive interviews with survivors and relatives, as well as diaries and letters, Kershaw's book focuses on several remarkable individuals and families to tell one of the most poignant stories of World War II—the story of one small American town that went to war and died on Omaha Beach."
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