D-Day Memorial School Programs

For field trip opportunities, the Memorial offers a two-hour program that provides students with hands-on acitivites under an authentic military tent. Students examine the type of equipment worn by soliders on D-day, view artifacts, discover shortages found on the homefront, listen to period music,
and tour the Memorial site.  Teachers interested in scheduling a program
should call the Director of Education at 540-586-3329.

D-Day Memorial Opens Students' Eyes

"Eleven-year old Molly Reilly didn't really know what D-Day was before her school class visited the National D-Day Memorial last week.  'I thought the invasion part was cool because you could close your eyes and hear what the soldiers heard,' she said, referring to the battle scene that simulates bullets hitting the water.

"Molly's Roanoke school group is part of more than 10,000 kids who have visited the memorial this past year to learn about World War II as well as Bedford's role in it.  Since last July, the memorial has seen more than 84,000 visitors total pass through.  Since April 1, more than 5,000 students have visited.

"'They're the best part of the job,' volunteer tour guide Tom Murray says, pointing to Molly and her classmates.  'They learn something and you never know what one word will plant a seed in their minds...'"  The memorial evokes different emotions from each visitor,depending on their age and life experiences.  Some of the school children pepper their volunteer tour guide with questions while others quietly read the plaques that accompany the statues...

"'Ciara Peacock, 10...said the memorial surprised her and taught her a lot.  'It's really amazing to find out how much these people did for our counry,' she said.  Kate Bondurant, 12, said that after her visit, she will always remember the Bible that fell out of a soldier's backpack when he died on the shore.  The image is memorialized as one of the statues.  'Amidst all the terible stuff, it stood out,' she said."

--A. Dionne Waugh, The News and Advance, June 6, 2003

Donor Pays for School Buses to Memorial

"Gerald Willis plans to give $5,000 in memory of his father to the Roanoke School Board to fund field trips for sixth and seventh graders to the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford.  He would like to see all the valley's students make the trip.  Robert Willis, was a veteran of both World Ward II and the Korean War; he participated in the D-Day invasion."

-- Joel Turner, The Roanoke Times, April 19, 2003

"Willis said he has also received about $850 in small contributions since the newspaper story in April about his plan to donate the money.  Willis established a Robert Willis D-Day Fund at Member One Credit Union where people can make donations to help pay for field trips to the memorial.  Contributions may be made at Member One's office at 202 Fourth St., NE, Roanoke, VA 24012 or at any branch."

-- Joel Turner, The Roanoke Times, June 19, 2003

Memorial is for All D-Day Veterans

“...personnel from all over the country paid the ultimate price that day. And because of that, the sooner the word of the national scope of the D-Day Memorial can be gotten out to the rest of the world, the sooner the financial difficulties will be overcome and progress can begin on the education center, which will then turn our local memorial into the world-class facility it deserves to be.”

-- Robert Ware of Lynchburg, The News and Advance, July 4, 2002
 
 

“The memorial is carrying out its mission to educate the younger generations about D-Day and World War II in general. A new educational program for school groups started at the end of April, which attracted about 6,000 students in the first month.
“Peter Viemeister, new chairman of the board, said he expects more positive things to happen at the memorial in the coming year. He expects even more visitors and school groups in the memorial’s second year. He said he also expects that the foundation will gain more support from local municipalities, make progress on paying off its debt, and see the investigation concluded.”

-- Marcia Apperson, The News and Advance, June 6, 2002
 
 

“So more than 400 new cadets were delivered to the National D-Day Memorial on Thursday, disgorged from eight buses, clad in olive-drab camouflage and staring wide-eyed at the soaring Memorial arch.

“'It’s big,’ said Robert Barkley, a first-year cadet from Appomattox. ‘My parents had told me about it, but I hadn’t been myself. It’s very impressive.’”

-- Darrell Laurant, The News and Advance, August 23, 2002