CHANGE THE LEAD

Seventy-five years ago tens of thousands of American, British and Canadian troops stormed the German-held beaches of Normandy in the largest seaborne invasion in history. Thousands died, and thousands more were wounded.

French noncombatants were killed in connection with a massive bombing campaign by the Allies, which began three months before D-Day to isolate the battlefield ahead of the June 6 ground invasion.

Bedford, Virginia, then a close-knit community of fewer than 4,000 people in the Shenandoah Valley, was home to Company A of the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division. Of the 37 men called to fight, 20 died - all but one from the same company that saw significant action on D-Day.

Most of the nearly 160,000 Allied troops who fought on D-Day are remembered for their heroism but not their names. Here are a few exceptions, including some who won fame for achievements after the war.

This is the day that changed the world; They depended on each other — and the world depended on them. So said the taglines for some of the best known movies and series that focused, at least in part, on D-Day.

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower had his resignation letter ready for a reason: the success of Operation Overlord was never a given.

It was a day that defined the world for generations. On June 6, 1944, about 160,000 American, British and Canadian troops stormed five beaches along a 60-mile front in Normandy in the largest seaborne invasion in history. Seventy-five years later, the world still lives in the shadow of D-Day.

This is the day that changed the world; They depended on each other — and the world depended on them; In the last great invasion of the last great war, the greatest danger for eight men was saving ... one; The real glory of war is surviving; Swinging’s their game and London will never be the same!