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| National
D-Day Memorial, Bedford, Va. |
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Left
to right: "Across the
Beach" and "Death
on the Shore" bronze
American soldier sculptures
and a mock steel tetrahedra
in the Reflecting Pool at
the National D-Day Memorial
in Bedford, Va.
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PRESIDENT
BUSH'S SPEECH CONTINUED:
"A father and his son both fell
during Operation Overlord. So did
33 pairs of brothers — including
a boy having the same name as his
hometown, Bedford T. Hoback, and his
brother Raymond. Their sister, Lucille,
is with us today. She has recalled
that Raymond was offered an early
discharge for health reasons, but
he turned it down. "He didn't
want to leave his brother," she
remembers. "He had come over
with him and he was going to stay
with him." Both were killed on
D-Day. The only trace of Raymond Hoback
was his Bible, found in the sand.
Their mother asked that Bedford be
laid to rest in France with Raymond,
so that her sons might always be together.
"Perhaps some of you knew Gordon
White, Sr. He died here just a few
years ago, at the age of 95, the last
living parent of a soldier who died
on D-Day. His boy, Henry, loved his
days on the family farm, and was especially
fond of a workhorse named Major. Family
members recall how Gordon just couldn't
let go of Henry's old horse, and he
never did. For 25 years after the
war, Major was cherished by Gordon
White as a last link to his son, and
a link to another life. [ speech
continued . . . ]
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