Significance
The Bedford Boys is a nonfiction book that retells the tragic story of one town's ultimate sacrifice during World War II. Standing at a population of 3,000 in the 1940's, Bedford, Virginia was a small town located near the heart of central Virginia. During the Great Depression, many of Bedford's young men joined the National Guard to earn an extra $30 per month for their families. All they had to do was leave their homes for two weeks each year and do varying practice drills in a camp in North Carolina. Little did they know that they would actually be called upon for duty. Thirty-five young men, ranging from nineteen to the late twenties, left their small-town lives and were shipped to England where they trained with the newly commissioned 29th Infantry Division to prepare for the Allied invasion of France. Among them were five groups of twins. The Bedford Boys were divided among multiple companies of the 1st Battalion elements of the 116th Infantry Brigade, but most of them were in the 98-man Company A. Company A was lead by one of the Bedford boys, Captain Taylor Fellers. They trained for three years in the moors of southern England and became one of the finest-trained military groups in the army. During Operation Overlord, (D-Day), Company A was assigned the daunting and suicidal task of being the first troops to land on the infamous Omaha Beach coastline. Throughout the course of the engagement, 19 of the 35 Bedford Boys would be killed that day on Omaha Beach, including Captain Fellers. Three more Bedford boys would later be killed during the Normandy campaign. Out of the twins, two sets were killed on June 6, and there was one casualty in each of the other three sets of twins. Other recruits from Bedford, Virginia were also killed in the Western theater and in other operations during World War II. No other city or town in the United States had a higher one-day death toll (proportionate to population) for the entire war. Such sacrifice has proved that freedom does not come for free.
The final resting place of the thousands of allied troops who died on D-day. A wall nearby lists the names of the soldiers whose bodies were never found.
"I have returned many times to honour the valiant men who died…every man who set foot on Omaha Beach was a hero." The Parallels of the f's: Fortinbras vs. Fellers?
The figure of Captain Taylor Fellers in The Bedford Boys, intriguingly, shares multiple parallels with the young Norwegian noble Fortinbras in Shakespeare's classic Hamlet. In Hamlet, Hamlet compares himself to Fortinbras and admires his decisive action for even an unworthy cause. Fortinbras is taking a large army to battle Poland for a little piece of land that "hath in it no profit but the name." Hamlet envies Fortinbras's blind faith and courage to put his life on the line for something of little value to himself. Prince Fortinbras's great devotion of his country is proven by this move against the Poles. The same goes with Fellers. He had studied the location and logistics for weeks before the battle. He knew that there would be much bloodshed even mentioning it to his second in command Ray Nance, "We'll all be killed, Ray." Fellers and his men knew what they were about to get themselves into. The stakes were high, not just because of the importance of the invasion, it was also their honor and dedication to their nation.
Both Fortinbras and Fellers were not very eager to engage in devastating conflict, but they both went willingly to fight and even die for their beloved countries, if it became necessary. Did You know?
The tragic story of the loss of the Bedford boys and their postmortem legacy is believed to have inspired the widely-acclaimed Spielberg film Saving Private Ryan. In the movie Saving Private Ryan the significance placed on PFC James Francis Ryan is due to the loss of his three brothers on D-day. To prevent the loss of a widow's last remaining son, The US War Department orders a small unit of US Rangers to find the missing serviceman.
This action closely corresponds with the high number of multiples and friends from the close-knit community of Bedford that saw action and died together on Omaha beach. While Company A from the Bedford Boys was not a unit of Rangers, they did include a few who had trained to be Rangers but had their unit disbanded. Captain John H. Miller is also a parallel character with Captain James Fellers. They both share the same rank, leading a group of Americans across Omaha Beach, are on a suicidal mission, doing what is demanded of them by their country and honor. The bedford boy of the flies, plus hamlet...?
The books The Bedford Boys and Lord of the Flies share a connection through the characters of Jack and Roy Stevens. And again, we see another connection to "Hamlet". Roy Stevens has a brother, Ray Stevens, and they are both from Bedford and are in Company A. Before they land on D-day however, Roy's landing craft becomes waterlogged and sinks. Later, when Roy finally lands several days later, he would find the grave of his brother and many other Bedford boys. Overcome with anger and sadness for the loss of his brother , he turns to violence and creates it a mission for himself to find and kill one German for each of his fallen comrades. This is where a resemblance in Lord of the Flies and The Bedford Boys is revealed. Roy has become almost obsessed with his role as a rifleman, just as how Jack is tied up in his lust of hunting pigs. He takes every chance he can seek to be on the front lines to kill a German.
One night he volunteered for a patrol near the German lines and watched helplessly as a comrade of his got killed. After that close encounter, he became more cautious and began to see reasoning. Here, homologous comparison can be made that links TBB to "Hamlet". As Roy seeks revenge, he is know caught between blind passion and reasoning. This dilemma is shown in Shakespeare's "Hamlet". Hamlet, grieving from the loss of his father, wishes for revenge against him. He is caught between his lust to kill and the meticulous planning that is involved and becomes stuck when trying to determine when to carry it out. Roy now realizes that he must be alive in order to seek his revenge and must not expose himself too often if he too doesn't want to fall to the Germans. |
(The pictures featured at the header of the page are images of the National D-Day Memorial located in Bedford, Virginia.)
Do you know your d-day?
There were five beachheads for the Allies to capture and hold on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Which beaches were the goals for American troops?
A. Sword and Omaha Beaches B. Omaha and Utah Beaches C. Gold and Pegasus Beaches D. Juno and Utah Beaches |