6/4/19

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 75th 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.
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