LYNCHBURG: Due to inclement weather, the Memorial Day Commemoration scheduled for Monument Terrace on May 29 will be held in the City Armory at 1200 Church Street.
Guests should plan to be seated by 10:30 am for preliminary ceremonies.
Sponsored by the Military Order of The World Wars, Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion. Free.
BEDFORD: Due to the potential for severe weather in Bedford around 11AM on Monday, May 29 and with guest safety in mind, the National D-Day Memorial Foundation has made the difficult decision to suspend the Memorial Day 2023 in-person ceremony on the Memorial’s outdoor plaza. The commemoration ceremony will now be a livestream event.
D-Day Society members, sponsors, or those who purchased bricks for dedication and previously RSVPed to the in-person event are asked to check their email.
Please join us online at 11AM at dday.org or Facebook for our livestream event featuring keynote speaker Rear Adm. Michael J. Steffen and Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears.
We wish you all a safe Memorial Day, as we remember those who sacrificed all to secure freedom.
National D-Day Memorial:
Lt. Governor, Rear Admiral to Participate in Memorial Day Observance
Ceremony set for May 29 at 11AM at National D-Day Memorial
Bedford, VA – Rear Adm. Michael J. Steffen; Commander, Navy Reserve Forces Command and Deputy Commander, Navy Reserve Force; will deliver the keynote address on Memorial Day at the National D-Day Memorial. The Honorable Winsome Earle-Sears, Lt. Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, will join Rear Adm. Steffen in laying a wreath. She will have the distinct honor of leading the crowd in honoring the colors at the ceremony’s conclusion.
Steffen, a native of Bedford, Virginia, was commissioned through the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets in conjunction with the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program and designated a naval aviator in 1994. He holds a Master of Science in Global Business Leadership from the University of San Diego. His command tours include the Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 60 (HSL-60) “Jaguars” in Jacksonville, Florida, the Maritime Support Wing, based in Coronado, California, and the Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base in Texas.
Earle-Sears, a native of Kingston, Jamaica, immigrated to the United States at the age of six and is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. She has served as the Vice President of the Virginia State Board of Education; and as a presidential appointee to the U.S. Census Bureau, as co-chair of the African American Committee; and the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. She is the first female Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the first Black female elected to statewide office.
The Memorial will break ground on the Medal of Honor Garden, paying tribute to the four Medal of Honor recipients from D-Day, and dedicate recently installed veteran bricks in the Annie J. Bronson Veterans Memorial Walk and Gold Star Garden. Guests may view the Fallen Soldier Battle Cross exhibit on the Memorial’s west lawn.
Gates open at 10AM, with free admission from 10AM – noon. Please bring a chair. The Memorial will collect fresh flowers at the gate to place on the graves of “Bedford Boys” and others later that day. The ceremony will be livestreamed at 11AM at dday.org under the watch badge and calendar of events.
Lynchburg Pops Community Band Neal Haworth Memorial Concert
Monday, May 29th at 7:30 pm at the Academy Center of the Arts. More information is here.