Company A, 116th Infantry Regiment

Company A, 116th Infantry Regiment. . One of twelve letter companies of the 29th Infantry Division's 116 Infantry Regiment, Company A, under the command of Captain Taylor N. Fellers, landed in gray dawn at H-Hour, 0630, on the Dog Green sector of Omaha Beach. One of the six assault landing craft (LCA) transporting the company ashore floundered a kilometer off the beach, leaving some thirty combat-loaded soldiers and four British sailors struggling to stay afloat in heavy seas. The other five LCAs transporting the company grounded on the tidal plain as planned in four to six feet of water on either side of the Vierville-sur-Mer draw. , , Interdicted by mortar and light anti-tank fire as they approached, the LCAs disembarked Company A as rehearsed in numerous practice assaults leading up to the D-Day landing. Ramps descended, inner doors opened, and files of troops moved rapidly through them. Coming out of the surf, they formed into a skirmish line as they gained a foothold and proceeded inland toward the seawall. About a hundred meters into the tidal plain, the company came under savage attack from several well-fortified machine guns. , , Lacking both cover and concealment, the advancing soldiers were at the mercy of the withering crossfire delivered by the German gunners. In less than ten minutes, most of Company A had been neutralized, and the first wave of the invasion was in disarray. The tide, which had begun its flood at H-Hour, continued to rise and carried many of the company's dead and wounded out to sea. By day's end fewer than fifteen of the company's soldiers could continue the fight. The troops left in the water when their LCA floundered were miraculously rescued by elements of the same flotilla as it sailed toward its mother ship, HMS “Javelin”. , , Between the unit's mobilization and commitment on D-Day, soldiers drafted from around the nation were assigned to Company A, but because of its National Guard origins the company had no shortage of Virginians; hence, Bedford's unhappy distinction of suffering this country's highest per capita D-Day losses. Well-trained, well-equipped, and well-led, Company A comported itself courageously, faithfully, and selflessly. Its unit decorations include the Presidential Unit Citation and French Croix de Guerre with Palm. , , Donated in honor of Roy O. Steven’s, who served with Company A, 16th Infantry Regiment, from January 1938 through July 1945, by the 24th Masonic District of Bedford County: Liberty #95, Chamblissburg #179, Mentow #180, Bedford at Moneta #224, and Forest #245.