The National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va., on May 14, 2019. Bedford, the small community near the Blue Ridge foothills, was chosen as the site of the memorial because of the its disproportionately high losses during the invasion of Normandy. (Nikki Wentling/Stars and Stripes)
LYNCHBURG, Va. (Tribune News Service) — The National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va., will host its annual Veterans Day observance ceremony on Nov. 11. Admission will be free until noon for the public and all day for veterans, who will be recognized during the service.
Guests are encouraged to bring their own chairs. No pets (except service animals) are allowed. Guided tours will begin at 1 p.m.
Maj. Gen. John P. McLaren Jr., retired from the U.S. Army, is the keynote speaker. McLaren served in the Army from 1974 to 2011, retiring at the rank of major general with more than 37 years of active and reserve service.
He served as the last commander of the 80th Division and the first commanding general of the 80th Training Command (TASS) from May 17, 2008, to Aug. 29, 2011. During this assignment, TASS trained more than 100,000 soldiers from the Army Reserve, National Guard and active Army in more than 160 distinct courses of instruction covering all combat service and combat service support military occupational specialties within the Army.
The 80th Training Command, during his tenure, became a national command with units in 34 states and with soldiers residing in all 50 states.
Following the main ceremony, the memorial will dedicate a newly constructed shelter, specifically designed to protect the memorial’s authentic 1944 “Higgins boat,” one of only a few surviving examples of an LCVP manufactured by Higgins Industries of New Orleans during the war.
“This Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP), while not a veteran of the D-Day landings, is emblematic of the all-important craft that ferried many of the invading forces from troop carriers to the beaches on June 6, 1944,” a news release from the memorial foundation said.
A viewing platform and educational exhibit will be added in the coming months.
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