A 1940s Radio Show

What did the Bedford Boys hear on the radio the night before they shipped out for service in the regular army, service that eventually took them into the war and to Omaha Beach on D-day?

We can’t know the answer to that question, but we can surmise that it may well have been a live musical performance broadcast from the Roanoke studio of WDBJ radio. A little news, some corny humor, some advertising for sponsor Dr. Pepper, and a lot of great music would have been on the agenda.

On Saturday, April 23, the Java Brothers will recreate a live WDBJ radio broadcast from the 1940s such as departing National Guardsmen from our area may have heard. Ralph Berrier, whose grandfather and his twin brother (the Hall brothers) often performed live on WDBJ, headlines the group, and portrays the announcer, the beloved Roanoke icon “Cousin” Irv Sharp. In between songs, Berrier will read original homespun scripts extolling the medicinal value of Dr. Pepper, the sponsor of the shows in the 1940s. Check out a video of their performance below:

The Java Brother’s will perform the recreated broadcast (plus some of their more modern music) at the National D-Day Memorial in conjunction with the annual “Prelude to Invasion” event. Their performances will be at 11:30 and 2:00. Other activities include reenactors, a skit on the Bedford Boys, children’s activities, and special programs for Scout troops.

Regular admission fees to the Memorial apply, with discounts available for Boy and Girl Scout groups. For more information, call 800-351-DDAY or email education@dday.org.

Hope to see you there!

Maggie

Around the Memorial: Spring is Here!

Good afternoon everyone! 

I hope you are all having a wonderful day.  I know it has technically been spring for a few weeks now; however, with the snow we had last week, I would beg to differ.  It is a beautiful day here in Bedford at the National D-Day Memorial, and boy are we having a busy day.  With the 70th Anniversary a little over two months away (and the weather finally cooperating), we have begun preparations on-site for the ceremony.  Today, we had a team of men cutting up part of the sidewalk in order to install our new homage sculpture in a few months.  The jackhammer has been loud all morning, but we know that we are pushing toward the future. 

On top of that, we also installed our new education tent.  Some of you may know that back a few weeks ago, our tent succumbed to the weight of the snow, during a particularly heavy snow storm.  We have been waiting for weeks to put up our new tent, and finally the day arrived.  The weather has been perfect today for the installation of the tent.  I would like to say thank you to all the staff involved in putting up the tent (Martin, Ron, and Jamie) and to the Town of Bedford Electric Department for coming out to lift the new tent up and over the existing framework. 

To wrap up my day, the cherry blossoms are about to bloom and my students from Big Island Elementary finally was able to do a little planting in the garden!  Today we planted beets, potatoes, carrots, lettuce, and radishes.  Special thanks goes out to all the Master Gardeners who donate their time teaching these students about gardening, and to Moneta Farm and Home Center for donating the seeds.  I just love this time of year and getting to spend most of the day outside around the site talking to people. 

Be sure to come visit us next Saturday, April 12th from 10-5 for our first living history event of the year!  Prelude to Invasion includes several craft stations and living historians discuss what it took to plan and prepare for the largest amphibious invasion.  Remember, this is our annual scout day - if you are a girl scout or boy scout leader and you would like your troop to attend this event free of change, please contact the education department via e-mail at dday@dday.org.  Scouts and scout leaders who register for the event and attend in uniform will be given free admission throughout the day.  Registration ends April 9th.

I hope to see you all soon!

Until next time,

Felicia