80 years after D-Day: An ode to the 'Bedford Boys'

June 06, 2024

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The National D-Day Memorial is tucked away in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the small town of Bedford, Virginia. It’s located there because, as a proportion of its population of 3,200 during World War II, no community in the U.S. sacrificed more men on June 6, 1944, than Bedford.

The Bedford Boys remind me of the humanity of D-Day and the reality of what was lost for the sake of freedom.

There were 34 men in Company A from Bedford. Among those, 23 died in the first wave of attacks at Omaha Beach on D-Day. Six weeks after D-Day, the young telegraph operator at Green’s Pharmacy in downtown Bedford was overwhelmed when news of many of the first deaths clattered across the Western Union line on the same day. Name after name of men from families that she knew well. There were so many telegrams at once that she had to enlist the help of customers in the pharmacy’s soda shop to help deliver them all.

Among those killed in action were brothers Bedford and Raymond Hoback. Bedford was the rambunctious older brother with a fiancée back home that he couldn’t wait to return to. Raymond was the quieter, more disciplined younger brother who could often be found reading his Bible. He fell in love with a British woman during his two years in England training for D-Day. Like in that harrowing opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan, Bedford and Raymond barely made it down the ramp of their Higgins Boat in the swarm of bullets and hot steel before they were cut down in the wet sand.

No community in the U.S. sacrificed more men on June 6, 1944, than Bedford.

Bedford and Raymond Hoback’s mother, Macie, learned of both their deaths from two separate telegrams, the first on a Sunday morning, the second the following day. Their younger sister, Lucille, remembered her mother’s devastation, and her father walking out to the barn to cry alone.

There were also Ray Stevens and his twin brother, Roy. They were on separate boats that morning and had plans to meet up once their units made it off the beach. Roy’s boat never made it to shore. It was struck by an artillery shell, dumping Roy into the English Channel. He was later picked up by a rescue ship and fought for several weeks in northern France until shrapnel from a land mine ravaged his shoulder, neck, and jaw, ending the war for him. He carried scars from those wounds for the rest of his life, but his greatest loss was his brother, Ray. Like the Hoback brothers, Ray never made it off Omaha Beach that day.

The day after D-Day, the killing field of Omaha Beach was already transforming into the massive supply port that would help fuel the American drive all the way to Berlin over the next year. A soldier from West Virginia was walking along the beach when he saw something jutting out of the sand. He reached down and pulled it out. He was surprised to find it was a Bible. The inside cover was inscribed with: “Raymond S. Hoback, from mother, Christmas, 1938.” The soldier wrote a letter and mailed it with the Bible to Raymond’s mother. That Bible, which likely tumbled from Raymond’s pack when he fell on D-Day, became Macie Hoback’s most cherished possession – the only personal belonging of her son that was ever returned.

Of the 23 men from Bedford who died on Omaha Beach, eleven were laid to rest in the American cemetery in Normandy.

In 2001, as a young graduate student in Virginia, my thesis project allowed me the opportunity to visit the town of Bedford where I got to spend an afternoon interviewing Lucile Boggess, the youngest sister of Bedford and Raymond Hoback. She showed me Raymond’s Bible that was found on Omaha Beach and mailed to her mother. She gave me a photocopy of the handwritten letter by Corporal H.W. Crayton that accompanied the Bible. She also urged me to drive up to the brand-new National D-Day Memorial site and walk around. The Memorial was still three months from its official opening, but she said if anyone tried to stop me to tell them she’d given me permission (Ms. Boggess was on the memorial’s board). I took her up on her offer. The memorial was largely complete, and it was a moving experience to walk through the statue tableaus at dusk in total silence.

I spent the following morning interviewing Roy Stevens, the twin brother who survived D-Day, at his home in Bedford. He and his wife Helen, who were married in 1946, were such warm, hospitable hosts. After we’d talked for over two hours, Roy and Helen invited me to go to lunch with them at The Bedford Café. This gracious D-Day veteran, who was missing his left hand from a work accident sustained after the war, refused to let me pay for my own meal.

After lunch, I had another interview scheduled at a home outside Bedford. Roy and Helen drove the winding roads and let me follow them in my car. They wanted to make sure I didn’t get lost in those pre-Google map days. It was yet another kind gesture that I’ll always remember. The country home they took me to belonged to Bertie Woodford, the younger sister of Company A’s captain, Taylor Fellers. Fellers was also killed in the first wave attack on Omaha Beach. Ms. Woodford regaled me with tales of Fellers and her family and took me through an amazing scrapbook of photos and mementos from her brother’s Army service. She also gave me a copy of a letter from Captain Fellers that he wrote to his mother from his training base in England over a year before D-Day.

Meeting Roy Stevens, hearing his firsthand account, and learning about the Bedford Boys personalized June 6, 1944 in a way no book or movie ever could. It’s easy to get lost in the fascinating scope of that momentous day. The Bedford Boys remind me of the humanity of D-Day and the reality of what was lost for the sake of freedom.

These men, many of them barely out of their teens, had hopes and dreams just like we have. During their homesick moments in England, the Stevens twins often talked about the farm they planned to own together. Many of the Bedford Boys signed up for adventure or because of peer pressure, and yes, a sense of honor and duty. Many of them first signed up for the National Guard just to make a few extra bucks per month, get to hang out with their buddies and enjoy target practice. But someone had to be first at Omaha Beach, and that responsibility fell to the men from Bedford. They didn’t shirk that responsibility, and for that, on this 80^th anniversary of D-Day, we salute them.

Below, you can read the transcriptions of the aforementioned letters.

Letter from Corporal H.W. Crayton to Mr. and Mrs. Hoback—parents of Bedford and Raymond Hoback, who were both killed in action on June 6, 1944.

July 9, 1944
Somewhere in France

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Hoback:

I really don’t know how to start this letter to you folks, but will attempt to do something in words of writing. I will try to explain in the letter what this is all about.

While walking along the Beach D-day Plus 1 I came upon this Bible and as most any person would do I picked it up from the sand to keep it from being destroyed. I knew that most all Bibles have names & addresses within the cover so I made it my business to thumb through the pages until I came upon the name above. Knowing that you no doubt would want the Book returned I am sending it knowing that most Bibles are a book to be cherished. I would have sent it sooner but have been quite busy and thought it best if a short period of time elapsed before returning it.

You have by now received a letter from your son saying he is well. I sincerely hope so.

I imagine what has happened is that your son dropped the Book without any notice. Most everybody who landed on the Beach D-Day lost something. I for one as others did lost most of my personal belongings, so you see how easy it was to have dropped the book and not know about it.

Everything was in such a turmoil that we didn’t have a chance until a day or so later to try and locate our belongings.

Since I have arrived here in France I have had occasion to see a little of the country and find it quite like parts of the U.S.A. It is a very beautiful country, more so in peace time. War does change everything as it has this country. One would hardly think there was a war going on today. Everything is peaceful & quiet. The birds have begun their daily practice, all the flowers and trees are in bloom, especially the poppies & tulips which are very beautiful at this time of the year.

Time goes by so quickly as it has today. I must close hoping to hear that you receive the Bible in good shape.
Yours very truly,

Cpl. H.W. Crayton

Letter from Company A Captain Taylor Fellers to his mother:

March 27, 1943
Somewhere in England

Dear Mother,

Sure hope this finds all at home well and happy. I got a letter from you today also one from Janie mailed March 13^th. Very good service don’t you think? Nothing helps a soldier’s morale like mail from home and his friends back there. I see in our paper here that quite a load of mail went down in one of our ships. But we can expect some of those things.

Your letter today made me a bit homesick when you spoke of things beginning to look like spring over there. Bet you have a pretty garden of flowers getting ready to bloom. Not much signs of any change here at the moment. We don have a nice day occasionally. But us yanks can’t figure the weather here like we could at home. I remember back there when Dad used to go out in the yard and take a look at the mountains, and if he saw any snow flurries on the Peaks he would come in and pull his chair closer to the fire. Here the people don’t seem to mind the weather at all.

I wrote you about buying me a Scottish kilt. Well it’s all right. A plaid of a lot of history attached to it called the “Royal Stewart.” I bought it in Scotland and it was made by a Scotsman. One of my boys parents live up there so he located it for me. I will send it home and maybe when I get back will get in it and go up town.

The boys in the company are doing well. Most of the Bedford boys I have left are my key non-coms. I am beginning to think it is hard to beat a Bedford boy for a soldier. Out of less than a hundred we left there with I would say about a dozen have made officers and several more will be soon. They are good practical officers too with a year or more of regular non-commission service behind them. I am truly proud to be commanding my old hometown outfit and just hope I can carry them right on through and bring all of them home. The replacements we have got from time to time have been northerners. Mostly New Englanders but I think most of them have developed a southern drawl by now. I still find the battle of Bull Run and Gettysburg going on in quarters when I got in for bed check at night. They sit around and smoke their pipes and fight it all over again. Among them are Diplomats, Statesmen, politicians, and guard house lawyers. It is really interesting just to listen. And when one of them get back from pass and starts telling about a girl he met, from his description you would wonder how Hedy Lamar and Lana Turner ever got so popular.

The outgoing mail has to be censored by one of the company officers, so once in a while it falls my lot to help with it and I could write a book on it. Those boys really have a technique on some of their phraseology to the girls they left back there. And form the local mail it seems that the same tactics work with the local lassies too.

I know you people back there are making a lot of sacrifices in the war effort. I sure admire the spirit and morale of the people here. They are really all out to give Hitler a swift kick in the pants.

I have been quite a number of places in England and some in Wales and Scotland. It is really an interesting place – far more so than most of us “yanks” back home ever realized. The old customs and traditions that are still practiced in some places are spectacular. One of the most interesting I have seen was the English high court opening. I had the pleasure of seeing one of them. It is the same old custom of opening court that has been practiced for centuries. Well I will have to tell you all about it when I get home.

We are all O.K. so don’t worry about us. Plenty of hard training, but plenty of food and a little time off to relax.
Give my best regards to all the fellows around town.

My love to all at home. “Cheerio.”
Taylor

Washington Post EXPOSED: How Watergate editors almost published a fake Pulitzer Prize-winning story

Episode 6 of Glenn’s new history podcast series The Beck Story releases this Saturday.

This latest installment explores the history of Left-wing bias in mainstream media. Like every episode of this series, episode 6 is jam-packed with historical detail, but you can’t squeeze in every story, so some inevitably get cut from the final version. Part of this episode involves the late Ben Bradlee, who was the legendary editor of the Washington Post. Bradlee is legendary mostly because of the Watergate investigation that was conducted on his watch by two young reporters named Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Bradlee, Woodward, and Bernstein became celebrities after the release of the book and movie based on their investigation called All the President’s Men.

But there is another true story about the Washington Post that you probably won’t see any time soon at a theater near you.

In 1980, Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee wanted to expand the Post’s readership in the black community. The paper made an effort to hire more minority journalists, like Janet Cooke, a black female reporter from Ohio. Cooke was an aggressive reporter and a good writer. She was a fast-rising star on a staff already full of stars. The Post had a very competitive environment and Cooke desperately wanted to win a Pulitzer Prize.

Readers were hooked. And outraged.

When Cooke was asked to work on a story about the D.C. area’s growing heroin problem, she saw her chance to win that Pulitzer. As she interviewed people in black neighborhoods that were hardest hit by the heroin epidemic, she was appalled to learn that even some children were heroin addicts. When she learned about an eight-year-old heroin addict named Jimmy, she knew she had her hook. His heartbreaking story would surely be her ticket to a Pulitzer.

Cooke wrote her feature story, titling it, “Jimmy’s World.” It blew away her editors at the Post, including Bob Woodward, who by then was Assistant Managing Editor. “Jimmy’s World” would be a front-page story:

'Jimmy is 8 years old and a third-generation heroin addict,' Cooke’s story began, 'a precocious little boy with sandy hair, velvety brown eyes and needle marks freckling the baby-smooth skin of his thin brown arms. He nestles in a large, beige reclining chair in the living room of his comfortably furnished home in Southeast Washington. There is an almost cherubic expression on his small, round face as he talks about life – clothes, money, the Baltimore Orioles and heroin. He has been an addict since the age of 5.'

Readers were hooked. And outraged. The mayor’s office instructed the police to immediately search for Jimmy and get him medical treatment. But no one was able to locate Jimmy. Cooke wasn’t surprised. She told her editors at the Post that she had only been able to interview Jimmy and his mother by promising them anonymity. She also revealed that the mother’s boyfriend had threatened Cooke’s life if the police discovered Jimmy’s whereabouts.

A few months later, Cooke’s hard work paid off and her dream came true – her story was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. Cooke had to submit some autobiographical information to the Prize committee, but there was a slight snag. The committee contacted the Post when they couldn’t verify that Cooke had graduated magna cum laude from Vassar College. Turns out she only attended Vassar her freshman year. She actually graduated from the University of Toledo with a B.A. degree, not with a master’s degree as she told the Pulitzer committee.

Cooke’s editors summoned her for an explanation. Unfortunately for Cooke and the Washington Post, her resume flubs were the least of her lies. After hours of grilling, Cooke finally confessed that “Jimmy’s World” was entirely made up. Jimmy did not exist.

The Pulitzer committee withdrew its prize and Cooke resigned in shame. The Washington Post, the paper that uncovered Watergate – the biggest political scandal in American history – failed to even vet Cooke’s resume. Then it published a front-page, Pulitzer Prize-winning feature story that was 100 percent made up.

Remarkably, neither Ben Bradlee nor Bob Woodward resigned over the incident. It was a different time, but also, the halo of All the President’s Men probably saved them.

Don’t miss the first five episodes of The Beck Story, which are available now. And look for Episode 6 this Saturday, wherever you get your podcasts.

5 Democrats who have endorsed Kamala (and two who haven't)

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With Biden removed from the 2024 election and only a month to find a replacement before the DNC, Democrats continue to fall in line and back Vice President Kamala Harris to headline the party's ticket. Her proximity and familiarity with the Biden campaign along with an endorsement from Biden sets Harris up to step into Biden's shoes and preserve the momentum from his campaign.

Glenn doesn't think Kamala Harris is likely to survive as the assumed Democratic nominee, and once the DNC starts, anything could happen. Plenty of powerful and important Democrats have rallied around Harris over the last few days, but there have been some crucial exemptions. Here are five democrats that have thrown their name behind Harris, and two SHOCKING names that didn't...

Sen. Dick Durbin: ENDORSED

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High-ranking Senate Democrat Dick Durbin officially put in his support for Harris in a statement that came out the day after Biden stepped down: “I’m proud to endorse my former Senate colleague and good friend, Vice President Kamala Harris . . . our nation needs to continue moving forward with unity and not MAGA chaos. Vice President Harris was a critical partner in building the Biden record over the past four years . . . Count me in with Kamala Harris for President.”

Michigan Gov. Whitmer: ENDORSED

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The Monday after Biden stepped down from the presidential VP hopeful, Gretchen Whitmer released the following statement on X: “Today, I am fired up to endorse Kamala Harris for president of the United States [...] In Vice President Harris, Michigan voters have a presidential candidate they can count on to focus on lowering their costs, restoring their freedoms, bringing jobs and supply chains back home from overseas, and building an economy that works for working people.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: ENDORSED

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Mere hours after Joe Biden made his announcement, AOC hopped on X and made the following post showing her support: "Kamala Harris will be the next President of the United States. I pledge my full support to ensure her victory in November. Now more than ever, it is crucial that our party and country swiftly unite to defeat Donald Trump and the threat to American democracy. Let’s get to work."

Rep. Nancy Pelosi: ENDORSED

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Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is arguably one of the most influential democrats, backed Harris's campaign with the following statement given the day after Biden's decision: “I have full confidence she will lead us to victory in November . . . My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for President is official, personal, and political.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren: ENDORSED

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Massasschesets Senator Elizabeth Warren was quick to endorse Kamala, releasing the following statement shortly after Harris placed her presidential bid: "I endorse Kamala Harris for President. She is a proven fighter who has been a national leader in safeguarding consumers and protecting access to abortion. As a former prosecutor, she can press a forceful case against allowing Donald Trump to regain the White House. We have many talented people in our party, but Vice President Harris is the person who was chosen by the voters to succeed Joe Biden if needed. She can unite our party, take on Donald Trump, and win in November."

Former President Barack Obama: DID NOT ENDORSE

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Former President Barack Obama wasted no time releasing the following statement which glaringly omits any support for Harris or any other candidate. Instead, he suggests someone will be chosen at the DNC in August: "We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges. I believe that Joe Biden's vision of a generous, prosperous, and united America that provides opportunity for everyone will be on full display at the Democratic Convention in August. And I expect that every single one of us are prepared to carry that message of hope and progress forward into November and beyond."

Prominent Democratic Donor John Morgan: DID NOT ENDORSE

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Prominent and wealthy Florida lawyer and democrat donor John Morgan was clearly very pessimistic about Kamala's odds aginst Trump when he gave the following statement: “You have to be enthusiastic or hoping for a political appointment to be asking friends for money. I am neither. It’s others turn now . . . The donors holding the 90 million can release those funds in the morning. It’s all yours. You can keep my million. And good luck . . . [Harris] would not be my first choice, but it’s a done deal.”

How did Trump's would-be assassin get past Secret Service?

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Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday was targeted in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. It occurred just after 6:10 p.m. while Trump was delivering his speech.

Here are the details of the “official” story. The shooter was Thomas Matthew Crooks. He was 20 years old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. He used an AR-15 rifle and managed to reach the rooftop of a nearby building unnoticed. The Secret Service's counter-response team responded swiftly, according to "the facts," killing Crooks and preventing further harm.

Did it though? That’s what the official story says, so far, but calling this a mere lapse in security by Secret Service doesn't add up. There are some glaring questions that need to be answered.

If Trump had been killed on Saturday, we would be in a civil war today. We would have seen for the first time the president's brains splattered on live television, and because of the details of this, I have a hard time thinking it wouldn't have been viewed as JFK 2.0.

How does someone sneak a rifle onto the rally grounds? How does someone even know that that building is there? How is it that Thomas Matthew Crooks was acting so weird and pacing in front of the metal detectors, and no one seemed to notice? People tried to follow him, but, oops, he got away.

How could the kid possibly even think that the highest ground at the venue wouldn't be watched? If I were Crooks, my first guess would be, "That’s the one place I shouldn't crawl up to with a rifle because there's most definitely going to be Secret Service there." Why wasn't anyone there? Why wasn't anyone watching it? Nobody except the shooter decided that the highest ground with the best view of the rally would be the greatest vulnerability to Trump’s safety.

Moreover, a handy ladder just happened to be there. Are we supposed to believe that nobody in the Secret Service, none of the drones, none of the things we pay millions of dollars for caught him? How did he get a ladder there? If the ladder was there, was it always there? Why was the ladder there? Secret Service welds manhole covers closed when a president drives down a road. How was there a ladder sitting around, ready to climb up to the highest ground at the venue, and the Secret Service failed to take it away?

There is plenty of video of eyewitnesses yelling that there was a guy with a rifle climbing up on a ladder to the roof for at least 120 seconds before the first shot was fired. Why were the police looking for him while Secret Service wasn't? Why did the sniper have him in his sights for over a minute before he took a shot? Why did a cop climb up the ladder to look around? When Thomas Matthew Cooks pointed a gun at him, he then ducked and came down off the ladder. Did he call anyone to warn that this young man had a rifle within range of the president?

How is it the Secret Service has a female bodyguard who doesn't even reach Trump's nipples? How was she going to guard the president's body with hers? How is it another female Secret Service agent pulled her gun out a good four minutes too late, then looked around, apparently not knowing what to do? She then couldn't even get the pistol back into the holster because she's a Melissa McCarthy body double. I don't think it's a good idea to have Melissa McCarthy guarding the president.

Here’s the critical question now: Who trusts the FBI with the shooter’s computer? Will his hard drive get filed with the Nashville manifesto? How is it that the Secret Service almost didn't have snipers at all but decided to supply them only one day before the rally because all the local resources were going to be put on Jill Biden? I want Jill Biden safe, of course. I want Jill Biden to have what the first lady should have for security, but you can’t hire a few extra guys to make sure our candidates are safe?

How is it that we have a Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle, whose experience is literally guarding two liters of Squirt and spicy Doritos? Did you know that's her background? She's in charge of the United States Secret Service, and her last job was as the head of security for Pepsi.

This is a game, and that's what makes this sick. This is a joke. There are people in our country who thought it was OK to post themselves screaming about the shooter’s incompetence: “How do you miss that shot?” Do you realize how close we came to another JFK? If the president hadn't turned his head at the exact moment he did, it would have gone into the center of his head, and we would be a different country today.

Now, Joe Biden is also saying that we shouldn't make assumptions about the motive of the shooter. Well, I think we can assume one thing: He wanted to kill the Republican presidential candidate. Can we agree on that at least? Can we assume that much?

How can the media even think of blaming Trump for the rhetoric when the Democrats and the media constantly call him literally worse than Hitler who must be stopped at all costs?

These questions need to be answered if we want to know the truth behind what could have been one of the most consequential days in U.S. history. Yet, the FBI has its hands clasped on all the sources that could point to the truth. There must be an independent investigation to get to the bottom of these glaring “mistakes.”

POLL: Do you think Trump is going to win the election?

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It feels like all of the tension that has been building over the last four years has finally burst to the surface over the past month. Many predicted 2024 was going to be one of the most important and tumultuous elections in our lifetimes, but the last two weeks will go down in the history books. And it's not over yet.

The Democratic National Convention is in August, and while Kamala seems to be the likely candidate to replace Biden, anything could happen in Chicago. And if Biden is too old to campaign, isn't he too old to be president? Glenn doesn't think he'll make it as President through January, but who knows?

There is a lot of uncertainty that surrounds the current political landscape. Trump came out of the attempted assassination, and the RNC is looking stronger than ever, but who knows what tricks the Democrats have up their sleeves? Let us know your predictions in the poll below:

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