
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 14, 1994                   TAG: 9405160163
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

VA. GUARDSMEN TO PARTICIPATE IN D-DAY EVENTS IN FRANCE

Veterans of the Virginia National Guard's 116th Infantry Regiment and other 29th Division units returning to France this June for the 50th anniversary of D-Day will be joined by present-day National Guardsmen when they get there.

About 40 Guardsmen from Virginia's 116th and a like number from Maryland Guard units will travel to Normandy, where they will serve as honor guards and color guards and march in parades during several ceremonies planned to honor U.S. servicemen who took part in the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France.

Capt. David Williams of the 116th Infantry's 1st Battalion headquarters company in Roanoke said he was "on the edge of my seat" in anticipation of the trip to France. "Ever since I was a kid, D-Day has fascinated me," Williams said. He described it as the "pivotal battle," at least for Americans, in the European theater during World War II.

Units of the 116th, including the 1st Battalion, were in the first assault waves attacking Omaha Beach on D-Day. Losses were staggering. All but 15 of Bedford's Company A's 200 officers and men, for instance, were killed or wounded when it landed on the heavily fortified beach in the first assault wave.

The 116th traces its roots back to troops of George Washington and Stonewall Jackson. Its nickname is the "Stonewall Brigade." The regiment, with the rest of the 29th Division, composed of other Maryland and Virginia Guard units, was taken into federal service in February 1941.

Ten soldiers from the 116th's headquarters company in Roanoke and Company A of Bedford will make the trip to France with the rest of the 29th contingent, Williams said. "They're keyed up; they'd probably swim if that was the only option."

by CNB