On June 6th, 1944, soldiers from Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, members of the 29th Division, were among the first soldiers to land at Omaha Beach on the coast of Normandy.
"Omaha Beach"
![This statue by artist Yannec Tomada commemorates the 116th Infantry Regimental Combat Team, who stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day in the beginning of the liberation of Europe. The plaque reads: Ever Forward In commemoration of the determined effort by the soldiers of the 29th Division's 116th Infantry Regimental Combat Team who landed the morning of June 6, 1944 on this section of Omaha Beach, known as Exit D-1, to open the Vierville Draw behind you to begin the liberation of Europe.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/60b4c2e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/799x534+0+0/resize/880x588!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F66%2F2a%2Ff2aeb9694db99c54d947d5b6e3f6%2Fym-omaha-beach-02.jpg)
Joe deSousa
The plaque reads:
Ever Forward
In commemoration of the determined effort by the soldiers of the 29th Division's 116th Infantry Regimental Combat Team who landed the morning of June 6, 1944 on this section of Omaha Beach, known as Exit D-1, to open the Vierville Draw behind you to begin the liberation of Europe.