A DAY OF DEDICATION - Our Poet's D Day Poem

                                 A DAY OF DEDICATION 

                                For placement of USNA plaque at the

                              National D-Day Memorial, Bedford, Va.

                                    Three-quarters of a century—

                                    The men who stormed ashore

                                    Are now a part of History,

                                    A gray and fading corps,

                                    And Navy grads who manned the ships,

                                    Directing mighty guns,

                                    Are likewise bearded to the lips,

                                    Escorted by grandsons.

                                    Yet here, upon a Bedford hill

                                    We gather, to display

                                    In deathless bronze, what love and skill

                                    Directed, on that Day.

                                    The tyrants sank beneath their fire,

                                    Today we celebrate

                                    With heartfelt prayer and tuneful choir

                                    The men who made it great.

                                    Forever shall the deed be sung,

                                    How Navy bore her part,

                                    The bells of victory be rung

                                    By masters of the art,

                                    How Blue and Gold, in warships gray,

                                    Spoke with a dreadful voice—

                                    For all who served, upon that Day,

                                    Recall, revere, rejoice!

                                    5-25-19

                                   

* On 5 June 2019, the 75^th anniversary of D-Day will be marked by the presentation of a large bronze plaque to commemorate the Naval Academy graduates who participated in the greatest amphibious assault ever launched. The gift of a committee organized by Roger Henderson ’69, it fills a previously vacant space beside the West Point and Virginia Military Institute memorials.