A Gallivanting Excursion

On Monday, my 2nd cousin twice removed (can you tell that I am a genealogist?) graduated from high school, and Marty and I were invited to attend.  The festivities occurred in Sevierville, TN and Marty and I decided that it would be fun to catch up with family and stop in to see our daughter and grandson on the way. 

We've made the trek to Bristol fairly regularly of late but this time we decided to reroute and not travel south on the nerve wracking I-81 corridor.  So, we planned a route that would lead us through the rolling hills of Virginia with a scheduled overnight in Culpeper. 

One thing to note when taking the off-the-beaten-track route is that rest stops are not readily available.  But that was easily resolved when we decided to stop at the Monocacy National Battlefield Visitor Center just outside of Frederick, MD. 

Not only was the stop convenient, but the bathrooms were pristine.  Actually a delightful experience for a change! 

Outside the center was a map detailing the park, which actually covered quite a distance, all within easy reach.  The ranger directed us to a nearby spot where we could take a little walk and see the site where the two bridges crossed the river. 

But first, Marty needed a selfie with a cannon.  No surprise there. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see a wooden boardwalk that stretched ahead through the woods. 

It ended at the bridge view so we stopped for a photo. 

There were benches along the way, and as we had packed a picnic lunch, it seemed the perfect opportunity to refuel before heading back out on the road. 

The drive from here to Culpeper was relatively uneventful which certainly would not have been the case on I-81. We arrived nonplussed and headed to our B&B which was self check in, and we had no problem settling into our lovely room which was located in the building right behind the LOVE statue.

A quick evening walk introduced to a few highlights of the town.  There is a train station, but we're not really sure if a train runs through as there didn't appear to be a schedule anywhere to view. But there was a caboose outside the station. 

There were some lovely old buildings to admire

And a Civil War and Vietnam war memorial.

The architecture was quite interesting with different style buildings lining the main street. 

On Saturday morning, we popped into the local bakery and each bought a delectable treat to enjoy with our Keurig Coffees at one of the tables lining the street.  It might not have been the healthiest choice, but it sure was delicious!

We headed out relatively early and made our way towards Roanoke, stopping in Bedford VA to tour the National D-Day Museum, which I've already featured in the previous blog.  

We arrived in Bristol by early evening and enjoyed time spent with Becky and Joshua until we left on Monday to drive to Sevierville.  The graduation was at 7:30 PM, so I had booked a hotel in Sevierville since I did not know how late the event would run.  

We arrived early enough for Marty to try his hand  (or should I say body?) on the water slide. 

I'm happy to say that even though he came rushing out like a bullet from the bottom, he seems to have sustained no damage. 

We then set out for the 5 mile trip to the high school where Lenka and her husband had reserved a large section of bleacher footage on the 50 yard line so we had the perfect vantage point!

In case you might be wondering, Lenka's grandfather and my father were actually first cousins.   She was born in Bratislava, as was her mother and grandfather. (and the generations before).  When she was about 12 years old, my parents were on a tour of Slovakia and had a day in Bratislava to themselves.  Out of curiosity, Dad took out the phone book, looked up Mrenna (spelled Mrena in Bratislava) and called the number. 

Helga,  (my second cousin who speaks English much more proficiently than I can speak Slovak), answered the phone and within short time, she and Dad determined that they were, indeed related.  She invited my parents over, and the next thing she knew, Lenka was meeting Mom and Dad in Helga's apartment along with Helga's parents, her father being my Dad's first cousin. 

Lenka and I both agreed that this course of events would probably not happen in today's world.  It sounds like a scam ready to happen!

Here is a photo that might have been taken by my father, although I can't be certain.

The families kept in touch, and Marty and I visited them in Bratislava, and Lenka came to the US for a summer on a student work program.  She would eventually come to the US, marry her husband, become a United States Citizen, and set up a household in Sevierville, TN.  Soon Dominika would come along, and here it is, 18 years later, and the beautiful young lady was graduating from high school.  We were honored to have been invited to attend!  And, we were Lenka's only family in attendance.  She introduced me as such and her husband's aunt asked me if I came from Slovakia.  I assured her that I did not. 

But I digress. Here I am with Lenka and her husband.  It was a bit sunny, but that was certainly better than rain!

And here you see Marty and me with the graduate!   It really was a lovely ceremony and Marty and I were thrilled to be part of the festivities. 

We visited the next day at their home where we once again got to see Buddy.  

How is that for cute?

Time flew by as it always seems to do, and soon we were saying our farewells and headed back to Bristol to spend one last evening with Joshua and Becky.

We certainly made the most of what time we had left there.  We played the digital version of Trivial Pursuit.  As you can see, our icons were rather entertaining.  You'll find me on the very left with Marty next to me. 

Final results: Marty was the winner.

Then we played a game of Junior Detective where, once again, Marty was the winner. 

The next morning, though, his luck turned and he lost the game of Chick a Pig to Joshua as well as Happy Little Dinosaurs where Gramma G pulled out a win at the last minute.  

All in all it was great fun.  But we needed to hit the road so that we could begin our drive home. We decided to bite the bullet and travel I-81 for the ride home, with an overnight stay in Harrisonburg.  I booked the Friendly City Inn (previously known as the Stonewall Jackson Inn) as we had stayed there on our way home in January and found it to be quite convenient and comfortable with an amazing breakfast.  

To add to the pleasure, this time, there were home made chocolate chip cookies, fresh from the oven, tempting us as we walked by to check into our room. 

And you can be assured that we did partake of one....or maybe even two before the night was over. 

They were scrumptious!  

We headed in the rain into town for a lovely dinner at Bella Luna. 

While we were enjoying our seemingly authentic Italian food, I recalled that a year ago, we were in Rome, eating something quite similar.  When we got back to the B&B, I sent a text to Marcie and Kim, our two Rome tour friends, reminiscing about the fun times we had, and I mentioned that this year, I was sitting in a B&B in Harrisonburg, VA.  

The next think I knew, my phone was ringing, and when I answered, imagine my surprise to hear Marcie on the other end, telling me that she and her husband were staying in a nearby cabin for the week, and did we want to meet up at a nearby restaurant?  Well,  why wouldn't we?

Time flew by, and we soon realized that we were the only people in the restaurant, and we should probably take our leave before they decided to kick us out!

Who would have expected so much fun on a cold, rainy night?    Surely a wonderful way to end our trip. 

And looking forward to even more entertainment in the near future.

Until next time....

Exploring the National D-Day Memorial

Perched among the rolling hills near Bedford, Va stands an amazing tribute to the fallen of D-Day.  One cannot see it from the roadside, and you don't quite know what to expect when you start the long drive to the top of the hill, but once through the guard booth, the expanse that greets the eye is surely not to be forgotten.  Unfortunately, there wasn't a spot where one could photograph the memorial in its entirety.  This photo represents only a facet of the grounds. 

One might wonder why a memorial to D-Day, which took place on the beaches of Normandy, France, would be tucked into this rather remote location.  I was certainly curious.  We would learn that this was actually not the original preferred location.  The man behind the mission, a D-Day Veteran named John Robert Slaughter, who was born and raised in Roanoke,  had approached that city's council with the idea of purchasing a piece of land where he could make his dream a reality.  But his request was denied. 

Determined to fulfill his dream, he continued his search for an appropriate location.  Bedford, just 30 miles northeast of Roanoke, is a small town with strong connections to the Normandy invasion.  It has the sad distinction of being the town that suffered the highest per capital deaths in one single day:  D-Day. 

It was easy to see why the local community would embrace the idea of a memorial to the town's fallen. 

The path from the information office, leading to the center of the memorial, features a tribute to John Slaughter. 

An inscription on the side  has this quote from John, dated 2007: Now that I am in my eighties, I am well aware that the long march that began so many years ago is about to come to a halt.  I am proud to say my generation helped save the world from tyranny, prevent the extinction an entire group of people, and preserve the democratic freedom of our wonderful American way of life.  I wouldn't change a thing, except to wish that my dear army buddies could be here to see and touch the magnificent National D-Day memorial that was built for us all."  

As a brief history, we learned that the town of Bedford had many young men who had enrolled in the National Guard from 1935 forward.  Thirty-seven of them were assigned to Company A, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division.  Of those 37 men, 31 of them would find themselves loaded onto a landing craft headed towards Omaha Beach in the first wave of the invasion.  26 of them landed on the beach, but 16 of the these brave young men were killed within minutes.  Four were wounded. And three were originally listed as Missing in Action and later declared KIA despite having no body to bury. A 20th man from the town, who was assigned to Company F was also killed that day.  

A tribute to the Bedford fallen can be seen in the distance from Slaughter's memorial.

This is a closer view. 

Below the statue is a marker with the list of names of the Bedford casualties. 

One can only imagine the effect that this significant loss had on this small, tight community.  Every person living in Bedford had personally known a casualty of the invasion.  

In one family, one son came home a survivor; his brother perished that day.  In another family, one son's body came home.  He had been one of the first killed on the beach.  His brother, with him that same day, continues to be listed as Missing in Action. 

Just behind the "Bedford  Boys" statue is Gray Plaza, which is set up to symbolize the channel crossing and landing.  Surrounding this plaza are bronze plaques bearing the names of more than 4400 Allied service members who were killed on D-Day. 

At the top of the circle, a rocky waterfall represents the infantrymen who managed to cross the beach.  You can see it from a distance under the arch.  Although the details cannot be seen from this vantage point, it features four soldiers climbing a rocky embankment, each in a different state of despair.  

At its base, imported sand stretches to the water, which represents the sea.  The Higgins boat in the distance is open and empty.   36 men have made their way through the water towards the shore.  One is shown lying in the sand, two advancing, and the four making their way up the rocky incline.

In the distance, a soldier wades through the water towards the shore. 

A lot of details went into the representation of that fateful day.  The statues are all life sized.  The somberness left quite an empty feeling in me. 

Opposite Gray Plaza is Reynolds Garden.  Amont other things, it holds busts of the various Allied generals who were involved in the planning of the Normandy Invasion.  

Omar Bradley

Montgomery

and Walter "Beetle" Smith, to name just a few. 

At the far end, a statue of Dwight D Eisenhower stands beneath an open domed structure.  If you look closely, you can see a replica of the Normandy Invasion map set into the ceiling. 

Looking out from this spot, Gray Plaza which, as mentioned, features the Final Tribute to all 4400 members of the Allied Expeditionary Force killed on D-Day. 

From Gray Plaza, here is the opposite view: The white sword represents valor. 

Interspersed along the many walks are memorial benches in shady areas.  The area is vast, and it was quite thoughtful of the designers to add this extra comfort. 

Above Gray Plaza is Estes Plaza.  It features a towering arch with the word OVERLORD emblazed on the finish.  That was the name given to the invasion on D-Day.  The black and white stripes at the top represent the Allied stripes that were painted on aircraft to make them easily identifiable as Allied planes. 

The National D-Day Memorial Seal is inscribed on the floor in Latin:  

Ad com memorandum fortitude, fidelity, sacrificiumeorum:  

Remembering their valor, fidelity and sacrifice. 

The twelve flags of the Allied Expeditionary Forces fly on either side of the arch:  Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland and the United Kingdom. 

The invasion was supported by 5000 ships, 11,000 airplanes and parachute and glider landings. The history is told throughout the memorial. 

There were countless metal plaques, each meticulously designed,  explaining particular details stemming from invasion maps

to landing crafts

just to name two. 

Outside the memorial circle stands a unique statue that was donated by the Guy Wildenstein family.  The original, named Le Monument aux Morts, was sculpted by Edmond de Laheudrie.  

It represents Victory wearing a utility belt and helmet of a World War I French soldier.  She was dedicated in 1921 in the village of Trevieres, France in memory of 44 men from that village who perished during the first world war.  The bottom jaw of Victory was blown off during World War II when it was struck by artillery fire.  The locals decided to keep the damaged statue as is, as a memorial to both World Wars.  

It is unclear why the Wildenstein family chose this place to erect a replica of this statue.  History tells us that his family fled France during the German occupation and emigrated to the United States.  The front of the statue is inscribed:

A gift to the National D-Day Memorial

the City of Bedford

and the Nation

from Guy Wildenstein and his family

With our eternal gratitude

to the United States of America

for restoring France's freedome

for granting asylum to our parents,

and for halting the extermination of a people.

In memory

of the American soldiers who gave their lives

on the beaches of Normandy

in June 1944.

We had opted to take a tour with a volunteer guide named Rick.  He was a wealth of knowledge and knew the personal stories of many of the men who perished that day.  He was also well versed on the invasion tactics as well as the personalities of the generals who were involved. He ushered us from spot to spot for well over an hour and a half.  And, that was just the highlights!

It was obvious that this man was quite proud of the efforts put into this memorial.  He stopped to thank every person we passed for taking the time to visit.  Since the National D-Day Memorial is NOT government or state funded, the volunteers appreciate every visitor who enters.  

Rick was sure to recognize the man with the vision, John Robert Slaughter, as well as Charles Schulz (of Peanuts fame) who donated 1 million dollars and Steven Spielberg with his quarter of a million donation.  Without these generous contributions, this memorial might never materialized. 

Before leaving,  we took photos of Estes Plaza.

Then we turned out of the circle to make our way down the long drive, out of the site of this amazing tribute to the fallen soldiers of D-Day. 

It certainly was a memorable visit and one most definitely worth visiting.  

As a side note, I realized while walking through the grounds, that one of the men who had served with the 116th Infantry during the invasion had recently gone from Missing to Identified.  On March 20, 2025, Sgt Ivor D Thorton was officially declared identified. He had been buried as an unknown in Normandy American Cemetery all of these years.  Now his remains can be reinterred and one more family will be able to claim closure. And although I did not personally play a part in the identification of Thorton, I am grateful to DPAA for crossing one more off the long list. 

If you find yourself driving along I-81 and are anywhere near Roanoke, I suggest that you make a slight detour and explore this amazing memorial.  You will not regret it.  There is an admission fee, but keep in mind that any funds received are spent on upkeeping this tribute that preserves the memory of so many brave young men who went into battle and never returned to their families. 

As I close, I admit that it certainly seems appropriate to post this on Memorial Day Weekend. We must never forget these men and women who sacrificed their lives for this country. 

Until next time....