I came across an interesting article about a SWVA town and thought I would share it with you since in a short time it will be history of the previous century. People's Magazine 1/9/1998, page 61-62: Bedford, Virginia has the grim distinction of having suffered the highest per- capita D-Day causalities of any town in the country! There is a brass and granite monument to the men of Company A, an infantry unit whose ordeal on Omaha beach helped inspire the harrowing portrayal of D-Day in the movie "Saving Private Ryan" Soldiers from Bedford and nearby mountain towns played a crucial part in the battle. Of 35 local resident who went ashore with Company A on 6 June 1944, 19 died in the first 15 minutes and 2 more were dead before sundown. Those brave men took part in the largest air, land and sea battle ever fought. 73 year old Bob Slaughter, (who was inducted into the US Army on his 16th birthday) recalls staggering onto Omaha Beach that morning and feels this event was too important to forget. Today, he has come tantalizingly close to ensuring the people of Bedford and the country, will have a lasting reminder of the event. In 1997, Slaughter oversaw the groundbreaking for a $12 million National D-Day Memorial and Education Center that will overlook the town of Bedford from a nearby mountain. It includes an 88 acre park with statues, a waterfall and a triumphal arch. It is scheduled to be opened on 6 June 2000.