'Overlord'
By muse amused
'Overlord'Code Word for D-DayJune 6, 1944The sacrifice of Bedford remembered stillWith Overlord Monument perched high on a hill.Highest loss per-capita the claim that day,Of a tiny community, Bedford, VA.Thirty-five boys who landed on Omaha BeachBedford, Virginia was home to each.Roy and Ray Stevens, the twins, through heavy salt air,Were in the first wave of troops landed there.The twins faced each other, on the gloomy day,Roy with his hand extended to Ray.'Naw, not now, Roy, don't shake my hand.We'll do that stuff later when we're through with this stand!'The Stevens' grew up in Blue Ridge Mountain land,Together bought a farm to work hand in hand.Roy, still to this day, with a look far away,Says 'Maybe I should have shook his hand on that day.'The 29th Infantry Division, the famed 'Blue and Gray'Against the heaviest defenses, led the way.Omaha Beach claimed Ray in June, '44As the Bedford Boys raced to that Normandy shore.They gave up the farms, the families and friends,Fighting for freedom, a battle that never ends.The Bedford Boys and the thousands who died, Slaughtered on beaches, but they turned the tideOf a wearisome war that could have been lost;Yet they surged into battle, regardless of cost.So we will never forget the troops who died in that dayLet monuments rise so we can say,'You protected the freedom, for granted now taken;The memory of sacrifice will not be forsaken.'Author's Note: I was inspired to write this after reading an article in Houston Chronicle, June 6, 2001. Written July 26th, 2001 © on Jul 26 2001 06:43 AM PST 0 • 12
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"'Overlord'Code Word for D-DayJune 6, 1944The sacrifice of Bedford remembered stillWith Overlord Monument perched high on a hill.Highest loss per-capita the claim that day,Of a tiny community, Bedford, VA.Thirty-five boys who landed on Omaha BeachBedford, Virginia was home to each.Roy and Ray Stevens, the twins, through heavy salt air,Were in the first wave of troops landed there.The twins faced each other, on the gloomy day,Roy with his hand extended to Ray.'Naw, not now, Roy, don't shake my hand.We'll do that stuff later when we're through with this stand!'The Stevens' grew up in Blue Ridge Mountain land,Together bought a farm to work hand in hand.Roy, still to this day, with a look far away,Says 'Maybe I should have shook his hand on that day.'The 29th Infantry Division, the famed 'Blue and Gray'Against the heaviest defenses, led the way.Omaha Beach claimed Ray in June, '44As the Bedford Boys raced to that Normandy shore.They gave up the farms, the families and friends,Fighting for freedom, a battle that never ends.The Bedford Boys and the thousands who died, Slaughtered on beaches, but they turned the tideOf a wearisome war that could have been lost;Yet they surged into battle, regardless of cost.So we will never forget the troops who died in that dayLet monuments rise so we can say,'You protected the freedom, for granted now taken;The memory of sacrifice will not be forsaken.'Author's Note: I was inspired to write this after reading an article in Houston Chronicle, June 6, 2001...."