Patchwork 250 is a new initiative from WSLS 10 that tells Virginia’s story, one piece at a time. Like a quilt made of many patches, every person, story, and tradition adds something special to our history. Join us as we celebrate 250 years by sharing the stories that make our region unique, one patch at a time.
On June 6, 1944, The Bedford Boys joined hundreds of Allied troops in storming the beaches of Normandy.
The Bedford Boys were an infantry battalion group from the Virginia National Guard who got their start during peacetime.
“Some of the Bedford Boys worked in the factories in the area, such as Woolen Mill and Piedmont Label,” Noelle Woodcock, museum manager at the Bedford Museum and Genealogical Library. “They worked in a bowling alley, one of them did. So just in stores or in factories some of them did.”
After training in Maryland, it was off to Europe and eventually to the beaches of Normandy, where half of them didn’t make it back.
Of the 38 sons of Bedford boys who made up the Bedford Boys, half were killed.
“So 19 on D-Day, one in the Battle of Saint-Lô, which took place in July, and then one died of Bryant’s disease or kidney disease in West Virginia in July as well in 1944,” Woodcock said.
Woodcock says that Bedford had the largest group of men go based on population.
With half of the Bedford Boys killed, it hit the town hard.
“I think it’s tragic that their lives were cut short, so many of them in the prime of their lives when some of them had plans, some had wives too and little kids that were left behind that they couldn’t see, you know, they’re children grow up,” Woodcock said.
Now, they are forever remembered by the town of Bedford for their heroism and sacrifice for their country.
“I think they captured sort of what they experienced on the beach so well with the sound effects and everything,” Woodcock said." It sort of puts a person in their place with what they’ve gone through that day.”
Think you know your history? Test your knowledge of the Bedford Boys with the quiz below:
Want to discover more stories that make Virginia unique? Visit the Patchwork 250 page to explore the full quilt of our region’s history, one patch at a time.