RIP Ray Nance: The Last Bedford Boy

I thought I'd pass along this bit of information from WDBJ7's news tonight. The last surviving "Bedford Boy" has died at age 94.

A Bedford County man who was part of the D-Day invasion and a member of the group known as the "Bedford Boys" has died.

Ray Nance was the last member of the group. According to obituaries in local newspapers, he died Sunday at age 94.

Nance landed on the beaches of Normandy as an Army Lieutenant almost 65 years ago.

He was a member of the group know as the "Bedford Boys" and was featured in a popular book by Alex Kershaw. Nineteen servicemen from Bedford County were killed in the allied invasion of Normandy.

Bedford suffered the highest proportional number of casualties on D-Day of any town in America. We may not always agree about the merits of any given war, but I think we can all agree that the Axis Powers had to be stopped. Guys like Ray Nance put their lives on the line to stop what I believe was the biggest evil of the twentieth century. If you get the chance, I encourage you to visit the D-Day Memorial in Bedford. It's awe-inspiring.

Thanks, Ray.