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American Morning

World War II Memorial Dedicated in Virginia

Aired June 06, 2001 - 09:10   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A National D-Day Memorial will be dedicated this morning in Bedford, Virginia, to pay tribute to the U.S. servicemen and women who took part in the Normandy invasion. The small town paid a big price during the onslaught 57 years ago.

CNN's Bruce Morton talked with some of the survivors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROY STEVENS, BEDFORD D-DAY VETERAN: This is about as real as you're going to see, Ray.

MORTON: Ray Nance and Roy Stevens remember. They were part of the 116th Infantry, the first wave on Omaha Beach on D-Day.

RAY NANCE, BEDFORD D-DAY VETERAN: Believe it or not, we competed to go in first. We wanted to go in first. I don't know why. I don't why we did it, but...

MORTON: Thirty-five Bedford men were in the attack: 19 died in the first 15 minutes, two later, the worst per-capita loss of any American town.

NANCE: The people we had in the outfit were so young. So many of them were killed. They didn't know what life was all about. They were just that young.

STEVENS: This is Ray and this is me.

MORTON: Roy Stevens served with his twin brother, Ray. They were on different landing craft.

STEVENS: Just before I loaded on, he was standing on the corridor as we went down, and then he extended his hand for me to shake it. I said, "Ray, we agreed to meet at Vierville, some area, that and I will shake your hand there. He just dropped his head and went on."

MORTON: But Roy's landing craft got wrecked, hit one of these boat traps. He got to Normandy four days later. He'd heard that his brother, Ray, had been wounded.

STEVENS: So, when I went back over there I was thinking he was in a hospital somewhere. We never heard. The first grave I came to was his. It was a cross. His dog tag was on it, and my buddy with me, he found his brother.

NANCE: This is where I came...

MORTON: Nance was hit three times, and he remembers a Navy medic in clean clothes -- everyone else was filthy -- telling him he'd been lucky.

NANCE: And nobody that I ever saw or talked to saw him. Was he real? That thought came in to my mind. Strange things happened on that beach.

MORTON: The memorial is finished now. And the president will speak at its dedication. And the old warriors remember and wonder.

NANCE: I've never known for sure why I was spared. I guess I never will know.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MORTON: Leon, the ceremony starts in just a little over two hours from now. As you can see, this place is filling up already. There are very few seats left. People standing around some of the walls. The big worry is weather because last evening there were violent thunder and hailstorms here. So far today, however, it's been fine - Leon.

HARRIS: Well, Bruce, I'm wondering about the men you spoke with, did you get a sense that it was easy or easier for them to talk to you about what they went through because I know that so many of those veterans have for years refrained from even talking about what they went through?

MORTON: Well, it's interesting. The man who really, more than any other, is responsible for this, a D-Day vet named Bob Slaughter (ph), said he didn't talk about it to his kids for a long time, didn't talk about it to anyone, didn't think anyone would understand. Now, because of all the publicity, the 50th anniversary in Normandy, the museum in New Orleans and this, which is really Bob Slaughter's achievement, he thinks people do know and he's happy to talk now. And he thinks this story ought to be told. These were citizen soldiers who came and took on the vaunted Nazi army and beat it - Leon.

HARRIS: All right. Our Bruce Morton in Bedford, Virginia, thank you. We'll be getting back to you later on.

CNN will have live coverage of President Bush's speech there at the D-Day Memorial dedication. That is scheduled to begin this afternoon around 12:40 Eastern and, of course, we'll have more from the ceremonies there throughout the day. Stay here.

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