“…As we approached the beach, the ramp was lowered. Mortar and artillery shells exploded on land and in the water…”
The account of the landing on Omaha Beach from Sgt. Bob Slaughter, founder of the National D-Day Memorial, taken from “When We Went In”. Originally produced for the Memorial’s 80th anniversary of D-Day in 2024, the multi-media presentation, through Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology, returns Friday night, June 5th.
Angela Lynch, of the D-Day Memorial Foundation, says it’s just one highlight of this weekend’s planned events, “This is the big projection-mapping show, where we’re literally showing a film and using the arch and all of the monument as the backdrop, telling the D-Day narrative through imagery and firsthand accounts from the people who were actually there.”
On Saturday, the traditional ceremony takes place. The keynote speaker will be Drew Dix.
Lynch says, “He’s actually the first person ever from the U.S. Army Special Forces to have received the Medal of Honor and will be on hand to help us dedicate our Medal of Honor plaque in addition to giving the keynote address.”
Lynch notes the fact that June 6 falling on a Saturday this year should allow more people to attend the schedule of planned events.
That, along with the memorial’s 25th anniversary, as well as the nation’s 250th anniversary being only a month away has anticipation building says Lynch, “It really has created a unique opportunity for us in terms of visibility and we couldn’t be more pleased to have the partnerships with the folks at ICAT and of course everyone that works so hard to put on our ceremonies year in and year out.”
