Assault Craft Unit Two (ACU 2) Sailors visited the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va., June 6, to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the 1944 amphibious landing on the beaches of Normandy, France.

The Sailors supported the D-Day Memorial staff by helping to usher WWII veterans and special guests to their seats, spoke with D-Day survivors and guests during a meet and greet session, and participated in a wreath laying ceremony.

D-Day, code-named Operation Overlord, occurred June 6, 1944, after Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the largest invasion force in history, an allied force of more than 160,000 troops, 5,000 ships and 1,200 aircraft. Hundreds of thousands of American, British, Canadian and other troops, to cross the English Channel and come ashore on the beaches of Normandy, France.

The gargantuan force battled Nazi Germany on 50 miles of heavily fortified coastline and is credited with being essential to winning the war on the European front.

Despite the massive show of force, the battle was bloody and hard-fought with steep losses. The eight assault divisions ashore suffered 12,000 killed, wounded and missing, with thousands more still unaccounted for. The Americans lost 8,230 of the total lives.

The National D-Day Memorial resides in Bedford, Va. - the town that suffered the highest per-capita loss of lives in the D-Day invasion over any community in the allied forces. Consisting of numerous bronze statues, granite monuments and a chilling representation of the landing on Normandy's beaches, the memorial honors the Allied Forces that participated in the invasion of Normandy and encompasses the names of the 4,413 Allied Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen who died in the invasion.

"The memorial really drops the sheer size and scope of the operation on top of you," said Hull Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Douglas Odio, during a guided tour of the site. "But the real takeaway was the sheer tenacity of the men who took those beaches. Absolutely incredible."


"The Lost Summer" - a local moniker given to the summer of 1944 when the local population of Bedford, Va., learned of their 16 men who were killed on D-Day, has left an obvious mark on the community. Town shops display images of the battle and public displays pepper the town.

"We were proud, humbled, and honored to be a part of the remembrance," said Chief Electrician's Mate Brian Morse. "The town remembers, America remembers, and the world remembers what happened on this day in 1944. We will always remember and always honor this event."

After the ceremonies' completion, the ACU 2 Sailors spoke with attending guests, including D-Day veterans.

"Speaking to those present on D-Day was surreal," said Morse. "The generation of men is getting older and we are losing them. They are a treasure and I am honored to have spoken to them - to assure them - we will always remember."



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