The Roanoker - March/April 2019 - DDay21

isitors who'd like to retrace the

footsteps of the Bedford Boys
during their youth in the town of
Bedford in the early years of the 20th century
shouldn't miss a special virtual and walking tour
of the town as it was prior to World War II.
Many of the places familiar to the soldiers
are still here, and each has a marker of
explanation.
"There is something special about a historical plaque," says Bedford Town Council member
Bryan Schley. "It's like a time machine taking
you back to that very moment."
A map of the tour and brochure can be easily
accessed by a link on the National D-Day
Memorial website, www.dday.org.
The tour includes sites where the soldiers
spent their youth. Most joined up with the
Virginia National Guard Company A of the
116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Division,
seeking adventure, an extra dollar per day and
handsome new uniforms that many of the
young men felt would attract the ladies. Few of
them, if any, imagined that they'd be swept into
the violent maelstrom of the largest military
invasion in history.
Key Points:
Centertown
Plaza. The journey around town
b e g i n s he r e ,
where an interpretive plaque
details
the
Centertown Plaza
impact that
Bedford had on D-Day and D-Day on Bedford.
Bedford's Factories: Smyth (formerly
Piedmont Label).
Like most throughout the nation, Bedford's
factories converted to wartime production
during World War II. The factory near downtown Bedford, formerly Piedmont Label, opened
in 1919 and is the town's oldest manufacturer in
continuous operation. Another factory,
Rubatex, began making insulation for
aircraft and submarines, plus hoses for
gas
masks.
Hampton Looms
produced woolen
Workers at Piedmont Label uniforms, while
Belding

Hemingway made rayon thread
for parachutes. S outhern
Flavoring made parachute parts
and the Bedford Pulp and Paper
Company contributed to the war
effort by creating cardboard
boxes and pallets for shipping, as
well as powder for firing guns.
Rubatex workers made insulation for
Bedford High School was the aircraft.
social center of the town for teens
of the era. On Feb. 17, 1941, the
Bedford Boys attended a dance
and farewell party. It would be the
last time many of them would
walk its halls. The class of 1944
erected a plaque outside the
school to those alumni who were
killed in World War II.
Bedford High School
Visitors can continue on to
Oakwood and Greenwood cemeteries where nine of the 20 Bedford Boys are
at rest.
Bedford County Courthouse: Bedford Boys
Monument. In 1954, 10 years after D-Day, the
community dedicated a monument to its lost
soldiers. The stone was erected by the ParkerHoback Post, 29th Division Association, in
memory of those who lost their lives in World
The Bedford Boys
War II. The stone on which the monument was Monument at the
erected came from Normandy Beach as a gift Courthouse
from the Republic of France.

WHO WERE

THE BEDFORD BOYS?
Thirty-four Virginia National Guard soldiers
from the County of Bedford were part of the
D-Day invasion. Twenty of them were killed
during the first day of the invasion, and four
more died during the rest of the campaign,
leaving Bedford with the highest per-capita losses of any
community in the nation. Their tragic fate helped establish
the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford.
The colossal loss of life was chronicled in the bestselling book "The Bedford Boys," by Alex Kershaw, and in
the movie "Saving Private Ryan." The movie's director,
Steven Spielberg, was an early supporter of the Memorial,
in honor of his father, a World War II veteran.

75TH ANNIVERSARY

http://www.dday.org

The Roanoker - March/April 2019

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