Bedford in Bedford County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Second Ranger Battalion

“Rangers Lead the Way”

— National D-Day Memorial —

Second Ranger Battalion Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

1. Second Ranger Battalion Marker

Inscription.

Second Ranger Battalion. “Rangers Lead the Way”. One of two battalions that on D-Day made up the Provisional Ranger Group (PRG) under the command of Lt. Col. James E. Rudder, the Second Ranger Battalion was activated at Camp Forest, Tennessee, on 1 April 1943. For the landing, the PRG was configured as three assault forces. The Second Rangers, less Companies A and B (assigned to Force C) and Company C (Force B), made up Force A, with Colonel Rudder Commanding. On D-Day, Force B's mission was to climb the cliffs of Pointe de la Percée, expel the enemy from the heights, and proceed to Pointe du Hoc. Force A's mission was to assault Pointe du Hoc from the sea and neutralize the 155-mm howitzer battery of the 126th Infantry Regiment, which could interdict Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, and ships with ease, and thus disrupt, if not thwart altogether, the Allied assault. , , Trained and armed specifically for such exceptional missions, the Battalion was ready for the tasks at hand, but no amount of preparation could control the weather, navigation, or enemy resistance, so Companies D, E, and F landed forty minutes late. On shore, the Rangers did all they could to make up the lost time. Having fired grapnel hooks with climbing ropes over the cliffs as their assault landing craft (LCA) bottomed out, the Rangers ran through the defensive fusillade to ascend the hundred-foot rock face in minutes. , , Leaving the dead and wounded in the cover and concealment of bomb craters, they regrouped and moved out in small unit formations to find the German battery, which had relocated from its last known position. Engaging and subduing several defensive forces along the way, elements of D Company came upon the howitzers emplaced in an apple orchard with their tubes laid on an azimuth to Utah Beach. While the German commander conducted a battery meeting one hundred yards from that position, First Sergeant Leonard G, Lomell and Platoon Sergeant Jack Kohn, both badly wounded, smashed the guns sighting devices and used thermite grenades to fuse their traversing mechanisms. The Second Rangers accomplished the PRG's primary mission, neutralization of the immediate artillery threat, in the space of an hour. Force A then took up blocking positions along the coastal road and held them against repeated German counterattacks until relieved two days later by Force C. , , As the battle moved into the hedgerows, the Second Rangers joined it and continued to serve with distinction through the German surrender and the Battalion's redeployment to the United States, where it was inactivated on 23 October 1945 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia. For extraordinary heroism in action on D-Day, the 2nd Ranger Battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and French Croix de Guerre with Silver-Gilt Star. , , In tribute to the men of the Second Ranger Battalion who served in Operation Overlord. Erected by the world war two Ranger Battalion Association.

One of two battalions that on D-Day made up the Provisional Ranger Group (PRG) under the command of Lt. Col. James E. Rudder, the Second Ranger Battalion was activated at Camp Forest, Tennessee, on 1 April 1943. For the landing, the PRG was configured as three assault forces. The Second Rangers, less Companies A and B (assigned to Force C) and Company C (Force B), made up Force A, with Colonel Rudder Commanding. On D-Day, Force B's mission was to climb the cliffs of Pointe de la Percée, expel the enemy from the heights, and proceed to Pointe du Hoc. Force A's mission was to assault Pointe du Hoc from the sea and neutralize the 155-mm howitzer battery of the 126th Infantry Regiment, which could interdict Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, and ships with ease, and thus disrupt, if not thwart altogether, the Allied assault.

Trained and armed specifically for such exceptional missions, the Battalion was ready for the tasks at hand, but no amount of preparation could control the weather, navigation, or enemy resistance, so Companies D, E, and F landed forty minutes late. On shore, the Rangers did all they could to make up the lost

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time. Having fired grapnel hooks with climbing ropes over the cliffs as their assault landing craft (LCA) bottomed out, the Rangers ran through the defensive fusillade to ascend the hundred-foot rock face in minutes.

Leaving the dead and wounded in the cover and concealment of bomb craters, they regrouped and moved out in small unit formations to find the German battery, which had relocated from its last known position. Engaging and subduing several defensive forces along the way, elements of D Company came upon the howitzers emplaced in an apple orchard with their tubes laid on an azimuth to Utah Beach. While the German commander conducted a battery meeting one hundred yards from that position, First Sergeant Leonard G, Lomell and Platoon Sergeant Jack Kohn, both badly wounded, smashed the guns sighting devices and used thermite grenades to fuse their traversing mechanisms. The Second Rangers accomplished the PRG's primary mission, neutralization of the immediate artillery threat, in the space of an hour. Force A then took up blocking positions along the coastal road and held them against repeated German counterattacks until relieved

Second Ranger Battalion Marker (top left) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

2. Second Ranger Battalion Marker (top left)

two days later by Force C.

As the battle moved into the hedgerows, the Second Rangers joined it and continued to serve with distinction through the German surrender and the Battalion's redeployment to the United States, where it was inactivated on 23 October 1945 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia. For extraordinary heroism in action on D-Day, the 2nd Ranger Battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and French Croix de Guerre with Silver-Gilt Star.

In tribute to the men of the Second Ranger Battalion who served in Operation Overlord. Erected by the WWII Ranger Battalion Association.

Erected by National D-Day Memorial and the WWII Ranger Battalion Association.

Topics and series. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, World II. In addition, it is included in the U.S. National D-Day Memorial series list. A significant historical date for this entry is June 6, 1944.

Location. 37° 19.855′ N, 79° 32.158′ W. Memorial is in Bedford, Virginia, in Bedford County. It can be reached from Overlord Circle 0.4 miles west of Burks Hill Road. The Marker is located on the grounds of the National D-Day Memorial. Touch for map.

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Memorial is at or near this postal address: 3 Overlord Circle, Bedford VA 24523, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in Southwest Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Fifth Ranger Battalion (here, next to this marker); 121st Engineer Combat Battalion, 29th Infantry Division (here, next to this marker); First Infantry Division (here, next to this marker); Sixth Naval Beach Battalion (here, next to this marker); 29th Infantry Division (here, next to this marker); 5th Engineer Special Brigade (here, next to this marker); Military Police (MP) Platoons (here, next to this marker); One Hundred and First Airborne Division (here, next to this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bedford.

Also see . . .
1. Rudder’s Rangers and the Boys of Pointe du Hoc: The U.S. Army Rangers’ Mission in the Early Morning. (Submitted on February 24, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)
2. National D-Day Memorial. (Submitted on February 24, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 25, 2024. It was originally submitted on February 24, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 271 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 24, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.