Before his death in 2009, Elisha “Ray” Nance, the last surviving officer of the “Bedford Boys” –Co. A, 116th Regiment, 29th Division—penned an account of his experiences before and after WWII. He intended to publish his book, but never achieved that dream. Now his children have published his fascinating memoir under the title “Dawn on Omaha Beach: We Were There.”

A book launch will be held Friday, October 26, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. at the National D-Day Memorial’s Johnson Pavilion. Members of the Nance family will be on hand to discuss the book—which follows Nance’s military career from enlisting in the pre-war Virginia National Guard, to his company’s arrival to England, to their fateful role played on D-Day.