Volunteering is Fun at the National D-Day Memorial

Hello, everyone!

Today, we want to feature the men and women who put in thousands of volunteer hours each year to support the educational mission of the National D-Day Memorial to honor the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who landed on the beaches of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. We really couldn’t do what we do here without them!

Volunteers listening to the tour guide at the
George C. Marshall Museum in Lexington, VA

On Monday, we had the opportunity to take our volunteers who worked 25 hours or more to Lexington, VA to visit the George C. Marshall Museum and Lee Chapel. I always look forward to the Volunteer Field Trip because it is a great time to catch up with our volunteers during the slower winter season—especially, since the Memorial tends to be closed due to ice and snow in January and February—and for all of us to learn from other museums and historic sites.

If you are interested in volunteering with the National D-Day Memorial, you are in luck—We will be holding our annual Volunteer Training this weekend at the Bedford Welcome Center! We have two different dates to fit your schedule: Friday, February 26, 2016 or Saturday, February 27, 2016 from 8:30AM to noon. This is an opportunity to learn more about the National D-Day Memorial and different ways that you can volunteer here. Call (540) 587-3619 for more information and to RSVP.

Below, Ches shares about what it is like to volunteer at the National D-Day Memorial:

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Ches volunteering at the Information Table
 at the POW/MIA ceremony Sept. 2015 with
Jenny, D-Day's Volunteer Coordinator,
and Trudy, a volunteer for the Gift Store

During my final semester at Longwood, I completed an internship with the Memorial. During my internship I did everything I could trying to experience as much as possible! I worked in the Foundation's archives organizing, accessioning, and preserving history for the future. I also helped out in the Education Department. I led tours, supervised the Victory Garden students, assisted in leading student events, such as the day camps, and so much more! Once my internship was over in May 2015, I decided to stick around and volunteer throughout the summer because I truly enjoyed sharing and preserving the legacy of D-Day. My experience at the Memorial gave my internship and my volunteering so much meaning. History- learning it and teaching it- and interacting with visitors became a passion of mine, and today I can't imagine doing anything else!

In 2015, we had just over 80 volunteers at the National D-Day Memorial who volunteered 10,500 hours last year! Our volunteers bring the Memorial alive from giving visitors wonderful tours for the public and school groups to answering questions to welcoming visitors at the gate and in the gift store. Not only do our volunteers assist in daily operations, but also with events and ceremonies on-site. It is through this contagious spirit of patriotic volunteerism that we are able to ensure that the Memorial will carry on the legacy of D-Day for future generations.

 

Twila and Bill volunteering to set-up luminaries in Dec. 2015.
They also volunteer as tour guides for the public and school groups.

I am truly honored to work with wonderful, caring, intelligent volunteers who not only make everyone's day brighter, but who give their all for this incredible Memorial. You taught thousands of children, adults, and students the story of the Bedford Boys and the Allied valor, fidelity, and sacrifice on D-Day. You all are what make this Memorial so memorable. The story is impressive, but it is the volunteers who tell it that bring it alive and make it real for the thousands of visitors each year.

Thanks again for all you do!

Ches

Education Updates for 2016

Hello Friends!

I always enjoy New Year’s Day because it often feels like a brand new start. 2016 is no exception, especially for the National D-Day Memorial. After a strong year for the Education department in 2015, we are positioned to expand our educational offerings in 2016. It’s an incredible opportunity we have to share the legacy of our D-Day and World War II veterans and we do not take that for granted. Here’s a little bit of what we have coming up in 2016:

New Director of Education

John Long, Director of Education
National D-Day Memorial Foundation

Shortly after Felicia left in the fall of 2015, the Memorial started a search for someone with extensive experience in curating, grantwriting, historical research and an education background, particularly related to WWII and specifically D-Day. In October, the Foundation hired John Long as the new Director of Education. John previously served as the Executive Director of the Salem Museum and Historical Society and has taken over educational initiatives at the monument while working on evaluating the Foundation’s archival and artifact collection as the Memorial considers future plans for an educational facility. His experience is an incredible asset to the Memorial as we expand on-site and virtual programming in the coming year. Be on the lookout for blogs from him this spring on various artifacts in our collection and topics related to WWII and D-Day.

Prelude to Invasion

Living historians from previous education
events at the Memorial

Each year we host an event open to the general public called Prelude to Invasion that also serves as our annual Scout Day. However in 2016, we are revamping this event to focus on the Allied preparations for D-Day through WWII era encampments, interactive activities with living historians, military gear, live 1940’s era radio broadcasts, and more! There will also be WWII veterans present who will share stories of their time in the war throughout the day.

Our scouting component of the event is also more extensive this year with activities based on the Memorial’s values of valor, fidelity, and sacrifice, to earn a special patch featuring our arch. We are also offering the opportunity for Boy Scouts to complete a merit badge, Scouting Heritage, during this event for an additional fee. Prelude to Invasion: Meet the Allies will be on April 23, 2016 from 10:00-5:00 with discounted pricing of $4 for scouts and scout leaders who pre-register. Contact education@dday.org for more information.

Virtual Field Trips

Another exciting development for Education at the Memorial is the expansion of our virtual programming. In 2016, we are updating our technology in our virtual studio and expanding our programming to cover topics that hit vital history curriculum standards, such as STEM in WWII, Minorities in WWII, and others. These upgrades will allow us to reach more classrooms and groups across the country, and even the world, through video conferencing to share the legacy of D-Day for future generations.

This is only just a glimpse of what’s ahead, but I am excited for what 2016 has in store for the National D-Day Memorial and I hope that you are too!

Until Next Time,

Maggie

Changes at the Memorial and New Artifacts

Hello, Friends!

So in the past few weeks, the National D-Day Memorial has gone through quite a few staff changes.  Felicia recently accepted a position at the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation as an Education Officer. She has the amazing opportunity to be a part of opening the brand new American Revolution Museum in Spring 2017, and we know Felicia has an incredible future ahead of her! Also, Liz is getting married in just a few weeks so her last day at the Memorial is this week as she gets ready to move to the Tidewater region of Virginia. Both Felicia and Liz mean so much to us at the National D-Day Memorial and we appreciate all they have contributed to the success of the Memorial, and this blog in particular!

               

Ches, Felicia, and Maggie
on Felicia's last day at the Memorial

Well now that the sad part of the blog is over, I want to introduce myself and another staff member who will be collaborating with me on the blog. My name is Maggie and I have been with the National D-Day Memorial since May 2013 as an Education Intern until January 2015 when I was hired on staff to assist Felicia with field trips and the planning of education events. I have loved my time so far at the Memorial being able to meet incredible D-Day veterans while getting to tell their stories to students and the general public! I am excited to take on this blog and look forward to this “sentimental journey” we are about to embark upon.

Today, I am including a post from Ches, the Memorial’s newest hire. She started as an Education Intern  in January 2015 and was recently hired to assist with visitors to the Memorial and our downtown offices. I am so excited that she will still be able to have a hand in Education by contributing to this blog. See her post below:

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As an intern and a volunteer, I have been mostly focused on Education and Curation. In my time here at the Memorial, I have had the wonderful privilege of working with some incredible artifacts as they have come into the Foundation’s collection. I’d like to talk to you about a new group of artifacts that we recently received and that I have been going through.

At first glance, the box full of random papers and bits of fabric didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary. After all, most of the artifacts that we get that are papers are usually discharge certificates and enlistment forms and identification cards. It isn’t that these items aren’t important or even exciting- they are! It’s just that these are among the most common artifacts donated to the Foundation since they keep track of individual soldiers and are easy for families to keep. So when I opened the box and took a peek inside, I was amazed at how wrong I was. Here was an assortment of items kept by a Lt. Leonard Childers from Appomattox, Virginia in the war, from his introduction to the war in France to his capture by the Germans and the time he spent as a Prisoner Of War (POW) in one of their camps. He had kept letters he had written home, the comic books he had gotten from the Red Cross, his German identification card, and so much more. He even had a piece of an SS officer’s uniform! These pieces are all in excellent condition for being as old as they are.

We are working diligently here at the Foundation to ensure that these pieces of history can be preserved for generations to come. After all, history is a precious and valuable thing, and having artifacts such as these help to bring that history to life. They shape our understanding of the past and give us a better appreciation for what our forefathers endured for us to be here. With the POW/MIA Awareness Day only a few days behind us, on September 19, I think it’s important to remember this soldier and his sacrifice. I want to thank him and his family for their incredibly generous donation of these artifacts, so that all can remember and experience the history of a POW, even after he has passed on.  Without these artifacts, it would be much harder for some to know the valor, the fidelity, and the sacrifice that these soldiers had while being held as POWs.  

These artifacts were generously donated by Marilen Childers King and can be found in the NDDMF Collection under the collection number 2015.0026. 

-Ches