It’s the immersive experience everyone is still talking about and asking to see again!

When We Went In, the National D-Day Memorial’s exclusive, nighttime masterpiece is back by popular demand with a new prelude to honor America’s 250^th anniversary!

Created for the National D-Day Memorial by the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology at Virginia Tech – When We Went In is an immersive nighttime presentation that transforms the Memorial’s grounds into a stunning, multi-media sensory experience. Using the Memorial itself as the dramatic backdrop for the narrative, this outdoor show retells the story of the Normandy invasion through first-hand accounts of the men and women who lived through June 6, 1944, with authentic film footage, archival photographs, and wartime illustrations. The soundscape – from the roar of aircraft and gunfire to moments of solemn silence – delivered in surround-sound makes viewers feel as if they are in the throes of the historical moment and the triumph of eventual victory. The combined light-and-sound storytelling approach creates a vivid re-enactment of D-Day’s pivotal events, aiming to educate and emotionally engage the audience with the experiences of those who were there.

The show’s title comes from the first line of “Omaha Beach,” a poem by World War II veteran Peter Thomas. Thomas’s poetic account of landing at Omaha Beach acts as a thread connecting the entire narrative experience. Throughout the presentation, the words of participants – drawn from letters, oral histories, and diaries – give voice to the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and nurses of D-Day. Grounded in these true stories and memories, rather than fictional dramatization, When We Went In is as close as it gets to having lived D-Day.

When We Went In exceeded attendance estimates during its first run in June 2024, as part of the Memorial’s 80^th anniversary of D-Day commemoration events. The intimate, shared experience connected with a modern audience while conveying the hope and fear that young participants felt on D-Day.

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