Hundreds of military veterans and active-duty personnel from Washington and Northern Virginia gathered last night for a special Capitol Hill screening of a new documentary about the story of one Virginia community's sacrifice and loss in the 1944 D-Day invasion. 

Almost 800 people turned-outto watch "Bedford: The Town They Left Behind."  Bedford, a town of about 3,200 people along the Blue Ridge Mountains in central Virginia, lost 19 of 22 members of its Army National Guard unit in the opening hours of the invesion at Normandy.

Senator Warner said he hosted the event to share the story of Bedford with a larger audience, and to help commemorate the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion later this week:

"I have been a long-time fan and student of history and first came upon the story of what happened to the boys from Bedford about 15 years ago. ... When I heard a film had been made about that increible story, I thought why not share that story of Bedford with friends from around the greater Capitol area, and with current and former members of the military?  When we honor those folks from Bedford, we in effect honor all of those who serve."

The crowd was filled with active-duty and former military personnel, including former U.S. Senator John Warner, who served during World War II and the Korean War and received a spontaneous standing ovation from the crowd when he entered.  Virginia Congressmen Tom Perriello, Bob Goodlatte, and Glenn Nye also attended, along with North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan.  

The film offers poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by the men and women who serve our country, but also those made by the families and home communities.  The Roll Call newspaper had an excellent article on the documentary earlier this week.

John Warner was joined by two other veterans from World War II: Bob Slaughter of Roanoke, who is featured in the film (and pictured signing a book for Senator Warner below), and C.B. Proffit of Charlottesville, who received both the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for his heroism during the war.  

Following the film, a question-and-answer session provided the opportunity for guests to share impressions of the Bedford story, which left some veiwers in tears.

One woman said she had driven all the way from Cleavland, Ohio, for the event:

"I'm a daughter of a woman who survived Auschwitz.  I've never been in a room where I could say thank you to so many people at one time.  I just want to say thank you to everybody who contributed to saving my mother and so many other people during the war."

The event also provided an opportunity to highlight the National D-Day Memorial, located in Bedford, which currently is facing financial difficulties.  Senator Warner said when he first heard the memorial was under construction in 2001 during his campaign for governor, he went home to write a check.  "That's something we all need to do again," he said last night:

"It's great to have memorials here in Washington and in Richmond and in other big cities across the country, but it's also fitting and appropriate to have memorials to those who served located in some of our small towns across America.  The story of Bedford is special and unique, but there's similar stories in rural communities all across Virginia and across America."