BEDFORD, Va. –
Virginia National Guard senior leaders and Soldiers participated in the 82nd D-Day Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony June 6, 2026, at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia. The event also marked the 25th anniversary of the memorial’s existence.
Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the Adjutant General of Virginia, read aloud the names of the World War II veterans present at the ceremony and placed a wreath at the memorial with Chief Master Sgt. John F. Nye, the VNG’s senior enlisted leader. Nye also helped escort one of those veterans across the stage as he was recognized.
“We are indebted to their service and grateful for their attendance as we reflect on the over 16 million men and women who served during World War II for the cause of freedom,” said Ring during his remarks.
The Troutville-based 29th Infantry Division Band provided ceremonial music for the event.
Prior to recognizing the WWII veterans in attendance, the ceremony recognized new names added to the Memorial Wall, which recognizes U.S. service members and foreign allies who died in battle June 6, 1944, during the D-Day landings in Normandy. The memorial currently features more than 4,400 names, a number which continues to grow as staff continues their necrology project research to identify by name every Allied service member who perished on D-Day.
“We are the only organization in the world to embark on this endeavor, collecting the names of both Americans and Allies who lost their lives on June 6, 1944,” said April Cheek-Messier, the president and chief executive officer of the National D-Day Memorial Foundation. “The results are 266 bronze plaques around the plaza you are seated in today. On those plaques are thousands of names - young men who in the prime of their lives sacrificed their futures to guarantee ours.”
“I have had the pleasure of visiting Normandy on numerous occasions, and I’m always struck by what was achieved on that great and historic day that changed the world,” said Ring. “All of those who served during the war, whatever their tasks, they made it possible for us to enjoy the freedoms that we hold so dear today, of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Also speaking at the ceremony was retired Maj. Drew Dennis Dix, a U.S. Army and Vietnam War veteran who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in combat during the Tet Offensive in 1968. The ceremony also featured a flyover performed by T-6 Texan II instructor plots with the 434th Flying Training Squadron.
After the ceremony, the memorial unveiled new plaques. One honored those who perished on the USS Osprey, which sank after striking a mine in the English Channel. Six men died, becoming first casualties of D-Day. The other was dedicated to the service members who were awarded the Medal of Honor for their role in the landings.
Learn more about the National D-Day Memorial at https://www.dday.org/.
More photos from the ceremony can be found at https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCVSvQ.