U.S. Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 29th Infantry Division participate in a ceremony honoring the Bedford Boys June 6, 2026 at Omaha Beach in Vierville-sur-Mer, France. On June 6, 1944, D-Day, 29th ID Soldiers assigned to Alpha Company, 116th Infantry Regiment, from the small community of Bedford, Virginia, were among the first to land on Omaha Beach at 6:30 a.m. That morning on the beach, 19 men from Alpha Company - the Bedford Boys - died, the largest per capita loss suffered by any American town. More than 600 U.S. service members, including 30 from the 29th ID, are in Normandy to commemorate the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings. During the ceremony, Gen. Steven S. Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau, while Maj. Gen. Joseph A. DiNonno, a former commanding general of the 29th Infantry Division, served as a keynote speaker. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Terra C. Gatti)