Our 2023 commemoration featured remarks from Governor Glenn Youngkin, Maj. General Timothy Williams, Dr. John C. McManus, Kevin Hymel, and George Patton “Pat” Waters.

Governor Glenn Youngkin is the 74th governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. He was born in Richmond, Virginia and grew up in Virginia Beach. He earned an athletic scholarship to Rice University, where he received an engineering degree. He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. After college and business school, he worked his way to the top of the Carlyle Group as co-CEO, playing a key role in building Carlyle into a leading global investment firm. Governor Youngkin has been married for more than 28 years to Suzanne S. Youngkin, a devoted leader in non-profits and charitable causes. Together, they are dedicated to their four children.

Major General Timothy Williams is the 28th Adjutant General of Virginia. Williams was commissioned as a Field Artillery 2nd Lieutenant upon graduation from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1985, where he was a member of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and the Regimental Band. He served on active duty in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Fort Bliss, Texas. While in the regiment, he served as a fire support team chief, battery fire direction officer, squadron fire support officer and regimental nuclear targeting officer until 1990. On June 2, 2014, he was sworn in as Adjutant General of Virginia. Promoted to Major General on June 29, 2016, Williams was responsible for the combat readiness of units, and the administration and training of more than 8,600 Virginia Army and Air National Guard personnel.

Dr. John C. McManus is Curators’ Distinguished Professor of U.S. Military History at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). As one of the nation’s leading military historians, and the author of fifteen well received books on the topic, he is in frequent demand as a speaker and expert commentator. He has appeared on C-Span, the Military Channel, Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, Netflix, Smithsonian Network, History, and PBS, among others. McManus hosts the National D-Day Memorial’s popular Someone Talked! podcast. His book To the End of the Earth: The U.S Army and the Downfall of Japan, 1945, is his latest in his trilogy about the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theater.

Kevin Hymel has served as a historian and writer for the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force and is a historian/tour guide for Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours, where he leads the “In Patton’s Footsteps” tour.  He is also a regular contributor to WWII History and WWII Quarterly, and the author of several books including Patton’s Photographs: War as He Saw It, and two books in his Patton series, Patton’s War: An American General’s Combat Leadership.

George Patton “Pat” Waters was born in New York City on January 18, 1941 to General John K. Waters and Beatrice Patton Waters, the first-born daughter of General and Mrs. George S. Patton Jr. He graduated from Pfeiffer College in North Carolina in 1965 and enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve that same year, attending Officer Candidate’s School. He served aboard the destroyer USS Braine as Combat Information Officer for a 3-year tour of the Western Pacific and as an instructor in Anti-Submarine Warfare at Glynco (GA) Naval Air Station. Following his naval service, he worked as an executive in a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Louisiana before starting Waters Investments, LLC.  He has served as a board member of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, Patriots’ Point Development Authority, the USS Yorktown Foundation and now serves as Chair of the D-Day Society for the National D-Day Memorial.

Gates open at 10AM.

Free admission all day.

Guided tours starting at 1PM.

Memorial open 10AM-5PM.

Please bring a chair.

Please join us for these events following the ceremony:

Noon – “You Shall Never Be Forgotten” Tribute at Homage

12:30PM – Dedication of Ridgway-Deming Walking Trail

12:45PM – Book signing with John C. McManus and Kevin Hymel

1PM – Enduring Freedom Honor Team Performance

3PM – Someone Talked! LIVE Podcast

Thank you to our 79th Anniversary of D-Day event sponsors.