Flames of Memory: Remembering Their Sacrifice on D-Day

Hello, Again!

It has been a very busy fall at the National D-Day Memorial with events, field trips, and even livestreaming programs for schools across the nation! With all of the busyness, we haven’t been able to post as many blogs as we would have liked to, but we will definitely be making up for that in the next few weeks with information about upcoming events, stories from D-Day veterans, and even the use of pigeons in WWII.

Today, I am excited to introduce a new author for the blog, Sandra Parece. She joined the Memorial’s staff in July and works as the Assistant Site Manager. She spent years as a teacher with our local school system and we have enjoyed having her in our D-Day family. Check out her blog below on our upcoming luminaries event.

-Maggie

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This year, December 9-11, 2016 will be special days for the National D-Day Memorial with our annual Flames of Memory and Christmas in Wartime Presentation. On these three days from 6PM to 9PM, we remember the 4,413 men killed on D-Day by lighting luminaries.  Arranged throughout the Memorial and all the way down our access road, thousands of luminaries will shine in recognition of Overlord’s fallen and in tribute to the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our freedom. 

As a new employee, I have had the opportunity to help assemble luminaries in preparation for this event.  At first, I saw the task as a productive way to occupy my time and temporarily take my thoughts away from the stresses of the upcoming holidays.  However, as I worked, I realized that placing sandbags into a luminary bag is not just part of the job, but an honor.  Each sandbag represents a soldier who paid the ultimate sacrifice of giving his life so that I can enjoy the freedoms that we share as Americans. Seeing the thousands of luminaries also helps to put the sacrifice of D-Day into perspective. Losing 4,413 Allied men in one day is unfathomable for students who are growing up in a world where it took around 6 years to hit that number of killed in action in Iraq.  

You may purchase a luminary in honor of or in memory of a loved one that has served or is currently serving in the armed forces.  To ensure that your loved one is included in the printed program, luminaries must be purchased by December 5, 2016. Luminaries are $20.00 each or 6 for $100.00.  All gifts are tax-deductible and group sales are available.  To purchase a luminary, click here, email giving@dday.org, or call (800) 351-DDAY.

If you are in the area, I encourage you to visit the Memorial and see the magnificence of the luminaries for yourself. Admission is free, although donations are greatly appreciated. Special thanks to sponsors for this event the Virginia Moose Association and Member One Federal Credit Union!

I wish you peace and happiness this holiday season!

-Sandra

Real Life Rosie the Riveters: Women on the Homefront in WWII

Hello Again, Friends!

Today, I want to continue celebrating Women’s History Month by sharing about Rosie the Riveters. And yes, Riveters being plural is intentional. Not only were there numerous renditions of Rosie the Riveter as seen in this fantastic video, but there were millions of real-life “Rosies” throughout the nation who answered the call to service on the Homefront.

 

Three “Rosies” posing for a picture before
work. The ladies are identified as Virdie
Gordon Reyes, Retha Maxine Warner, and
Ruth Gordon Davis. The Gordon sisters
were from Elkton, VA, but moved to
Baltimore during the war.

As the men went off to fight in World War II, there was a tremendous need for women to step up in their absence. Women, like those pictured in this photograph to the left from our archives, went to work in the factories that shifted from domestic to wartime production to supply the troops and ensure victory for the Allied nations against Nazi Germany and Japan.

In order to encourage women to fight, the U.S. government began a propaganda campaign starring “Rosie the Riveter” aimed at recruiting female workers for the munitions industry. Rosie the Riveter quickly became arguably the most iconic image of working women during the war.

Between 1940 and 1945, the female percentage of the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent, and by 1945 nearly one out of every four married women worked outside the home. Bedford, VA was no exception. Many of the female family members of the Bedford Boys worked in local factories that produced supplies for their boys. The Belding Hemingway textile mill where Verona Draper, sister of Frank Draper, Jr., and Bettie Wilkes, wife of John Wilkes, worked to make rayon thread that was used for the manufacturing of parachutes. Frank Draper’s mother worked at the Rubatex factory where they produced insulation for aircrafts and submarines and hoses for gas masks. There was also Hampton Looms that produced material for military uniforms and coats. Women in Bedford also contributed to the war effort in their free time by going to the Bedford County Library to roll bandages. On June 6^th, they rolled 9,000 bandages in addition to the 68,300 they rolled in May.

Hampton Looms today in Bedford, VA

Over the past few years as the WWII generation passes on, the importance of honoring our nation's "Rosies" has garnered national attention-- even that of the White House. These women's service and support of the war were critical in winning the war, as well as integrating women into the workforce in the years following World War II.

Until Next Time,

Maggie

The Last of the Bedford Boys: Allen Huddleston

Hello Again, Friends!

Allen Huddleston during training with the
29th Division 116th Regiment Co. A

It’s with a heavy heart that we publish this un-anticipated blog post. Yesterday, the United States lost the last of the famous Bedford Boys—the ones who valiantly stormed onto the Dog Green Sector of Omaha Beach in the first wave on D-Day. Just over 40 men from Bedford participated in the D-Day invasion and unfortunately 19 of them were dead by the end of the day on June 6, 1944. This was devastating for the small town of Bedford, which is recognized as having the most men per capita killed on D-Day. Today, we honor Allen Huddleston’s valor, fidelity, and sacrifice on D-Day and want to share his story.

During World War II before the U.S. entered the war, Allen Huddleston worked as a soda jerk at Lyle’s drugstore in downtown Bedford and married his wife, Geraldine, who was a cousin of fellow Bedford Boy, Nick Gillaspie. Knowing that military service was inevitable, he decided to join the National Guard’s 29^th Division 116^th Regiment Company A since he wanted to go to war with people he knew instead of taking a chance with the draft.

Robert Key and Allen Huddleston

After training at Fort Meade for a year and a half, Company A left for England in September 1942 on the Queen Mary, which was under strict orders not to stop for anything. Because of this, she split one of her escort ships, Curacao, in half. Huddleston witnessed the event: "I was lying on my bunk when I felt a slight thud. I looked out a porthole, just in time to see half a ship sinking. We didn't even slow down." Those on the boat were shocked that the Queen Mary kept going instead of rescuing the hundreds of men who were drowning.

During their time in England, the Bedford Boys spent time camping out on the moors. Huddleston recounted how no one could stay dry and that one time they had to set up their pup tents in a driving rain and Captain Fellers kicked down those that were not perfectly aligned, even with people in them.While training for the invasion, Allen broke his ankle practicing unarmed combat strategies with Sergeant Robert Goode, also of Bedford. As a result, he missed the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944.

Allen Huddleston after WWII with his camera

He rejoined the Company A on August 28^th in Brest, France. He did not recognize anyone, and even found out that fellow Bedford Boy, Joe Parker, had died the day before he arrived. Another Bedford Boy, Mess Sergeant Earl Newcomb, was still with Company A, but Huddleston never saw him. Just a month later during the Aachen offensive, Huddleston was re-injured—this time with a shoulder injury from the shrapnel of a shell. He was sent home shortly afterward and arrived back in Bedford in April 1945.

As one of the few Bedford Boys to return from Europe, Allen Huddleston said he had someone

looking out for him on the day of the D-Day invasion. After the war, he and Geraldine welcomed two sons and he opened a photography shop in Bedford. He is also credited with writing the inscription on the monument dedicated to the Bedford Boys in 1954 in front of the Courthouse in downtown Bedford.

It truly is the end of an era for Bedford, and the United States. But, it is also a chilling reminder that our time is limited to honor and thank all WWII veterans while they are still with us. More than ever it is important to preserve and share the legacy of Mr. Huddleston, the Bedford Boys, and all D-Day and WWII veterans for future generations. I want to encourage you to thank the WWII veterans in your family or in your neighborhoods for the service, and to take the time to listen to their stories. What motivates people to share the legacy of our WWII veterans is not facts and statistics about WWII, but stories that make the war personal to them.

Here at the National D-Day Memorial we do this through our educational programming and by maintaining for the nation a memorial to the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of the Allied forces that took part in the landing at Normandy, France on 6 June 1944. Visit our website at www.dday.org to find out more about visiting the Memorial, our educational initiatives and programming, and how to support the Memorial in telling the D-Day story today and ensure its retelling tomorrow.

Until Next Time,

Maggie and Ches

Sources

Kershaw, Alex. The Bedford Boys: One American Town’s Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2003.

“The Last of the Bedford Boys.” Combat 15.1 (Winter 2007). 

A 1940’s DIY Christmas

Hello, Friends!

The National D-Day Memorial's 2015 Christmas Tree
for the Festival of Trees

Each year in Bedford, Virginia, our Welcome Center hosts an event called “Festival of Trees.” Businesses and organizations decorate trees throughout the Welcome Center and the public is able to vote for their favorite tree for $1 a vote. Voting began November 18^th and goes on through December 31^st, 2015. All of the proceeds of the winning trees will be donated to their selected charities, with the Memorial's being our educational initiatives. 

This year’s theme is “DIY (Do It Yourself) Christmas.” While DIY is the “it” thing in home decorating today thanks to Pinterest, the Memorial hit the jackpot of sorts since Christmas both on the homefront and warfront during World War II for most involved improvising and creating their own decorations in order to support the war effort. Nothing was put to waste with most items being reused and recycled. So as I selected items to decorate the tree, I took into account things that would be readily available on the homefront during the war and could be repurposed for Christmas ornaments and decorations. Below are a few of the decorations we created for this event:

Popcorn and Cranberry Garland

Materials Needed: Popcorn, cranberries, thread, needle and acrylic sealant spray

1.       Thread cranberries and popcorn onto a string to use as garland

2.       Stretch the cranberry and popcorn garland out on your work surface.

3.       Shake the can of acrylic sealant spray vigorously for several seconds. Hold the can of acrylic sealant spray about 10-inches above the garland.

4.       Start at one end of the garland and coat it with a thin layer of the acrylic sealant. Continue in this manner while moving down the strand. Let the sealant dry for at least 12 hours.

5.       Turn the garland over carefully and coat the backside of the garland with the acrylic sealant in the same manner as before. Let dry for at least 12 hours before using the cranberry and popcorn garland.

6.       Store the garland in an airtight plastic container after use. Add a few silica gel packets to the container before storing it away to help prevent moisture from building up in the storage container. Place the container in a cool and dry location.

During the early 20^th century, popcorn was a holiday favorite not just for food but for decorations.

Of course, during World War II, acrylic sealant spray would not be available. But for the sake of preserving our decorations for almost two month, we needed to use it to keep it looking fresh and to keep the bugs and animals away.

Cookie Cutter Ornament featuring Bedford Boy,
Frank Draper

Cookie Cutter Ornaments

Materials Needed: Cookie cutters, photographs, scrap paper, and glue

1. Choose patterned papers or color-photocopy pictures onto card stock. Trace cutter on top; cut out. Dab white craft glue along cutter's edge. Press paper in place; let dry.

2. Thread narrow ribbon through needle; poke between paper and cutter, and wrap ribbon around top of cutter and tie a knot.

We chose to use photocopied photos of the Bedford Boys for the tree to give a personal touch to the tree.

We would love for you to come out and take a look at the Memorial’s tree, as well as all of the other gorgeously decorated trees. Just make sure to vote for our tree though! 

The Welcome Center is located at 816 Burks Hill Road, Bedford, VA 24523 with special hours as following:  Open until 9:00pm on Friday, December 4, 2015, Friday, December 11, 2015, Saturday, December 12, 2015, Sunday, December 13, 2015 and Friday, December 18, 2015. The Welcome Center will be closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day along with closing at 12:00pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Until next time,

Maggie