BEDFORD, Va. – Sunday marks 20 years since the dedication of the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford.
After years of planning, Bedford hosted the world for the big event on June 6, 2001.
I was working at Channel 10 at the time and remember the day well. I remember taking it all in from atop a scissor lift, looking out over the men who had earned this memorial.
“It was just such an amazing event,” recalled my then co-anchor Lee Ann Necessary Brownlee. “It was just a sea of veterans. And just amazing, the emotion, the gratitude was just there.”
Outside of veterans, President George W. Bush also attended and spoke at the dedication.
“I’m so honored that I got to be there. It’s a great memory in my career but also as a person,” said Necessary Brownlee
My own thoughts as well and no doubt those of all who gathered in the shadow of the Overloard Arch 20 years ago.
On Friday at 7:30 p.m., 10 News will be presenting a special program looking back at the entire day and what’s happened in the two decades since.