Should we stay or should we go?
That's the question my husband and I have been asking ourselves for a while now. Both of us grew up in Northern Virginia (NoVA), a formerly normal part of the Commonwealth that has now been taken over by federal workers, illegal aliens, and lefty white women. We've endured a lot as conservatives living in liberal la-la land, but our breaking point came when Democrats decided to gerrymander the heck out of our congressional map with the goal of disenfranchising the conservative parts of the state.
Luckily, SCOTUS torpedoed that nonsense (although Dems will almost certainly try again in 2028), but it felt like the last straw for us. It was time to plan our exit from NoVA and, possibly, Virginia altogether. Fast forward a bit, and, after a visit to Historic St. John's Church in Richmond – site of Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty ... or Give Me Death" speech – we decided Virginia was worth fighting for, but we need to be around red-blooded American patriots in order to do so.
We are now embarking on a series of summer road trips to find where these patriots are living. Our first trip was this past weekend and our destination was Lynchburg. Many know Lynchburg as home to Liberty University, one of the few conservative colleges in the U.S., and that's actually why we decided to give it a closer look. Some precincts in the area voted overwhelmingly against the gerrymandering referendum, plus several sheriffs in the area have publicly promised to not to enforce the assault weapons ban set to go in effect on July 1.
SEE ALSO: Hegseth Remembers Those Who Fought During 82nd D-Day Commemoration at Normandy
A D-Day Letter From a GI to His Bride Highlights the Resilience of the Greatest Generation
Now, to get to the heart of this story: The Bedford Boys. Bedford is about a 20 minute drive from Lynchburg, and I've always wanted to visit it to see the memorial to Bedford's fallen WWII heroes. For some reason, I thought there was a simple monument set in the town square that was a quaint reminder that the small town had paid a steep price for freedom, with 19 of their young men dying on D-Day (and another four later dying of wounds suffered that day).
So, the hubs and I set out to find that memorial without much of a plan at all. We followed all the road signs and ended up at what has to be one of the more unsung memorials to our nation's veterans – and possibly the most breathtaking one in existence. No, it was not some small tribute to the town that sacrificed so much for its nation, but rather an expansive, beautifully laid out tribute to our WWII heroes.
It's called The National D-Day Memorial, and I'm ashamed to say I didn't even know it existed. It's surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, which provides the quiet, solemn, yet beautiful background a memorial to our fallen deserves.
Visited The National D-Day Museum in Bedford, VA, over the weekend. Had no idea what an amazing sight it is! pic.twitter.com/DLYqEhm3bq
— Teri Christoph (@TeriChristoph) June 23, 2026
The arch overlooking the Peaks of Otters is the centerpiece, but I found this to be the most profound tribute:
Spouts of water shoot up to simulate the sound of the gunfire our boys faced as they stormed the beaches of Normandy. Seriously, go visit this place. pic.twitter.com/0OFjfck3Gr
— Teri Christoph (@TeriChristoph) June 23, 2026
It really helped bring to life a tiny taste of what our boys experienced on June 6, 1944.
The Boys of Pointe du Hoc. pic.twitter.com/yUK1Z2qXHJ
— Teri Christoph (@TeriChristoph) June 23, 2026
(It was hard to capture the essence of the place on my cell phone, so I'll just say this: go see it for yourself.)
I went in search of a humble tribute to fallen heroes, but what I found was a poignant reminder that Virginia has sacrificed much to ensure the United States and the Western World remains free. There are too many among us who want to undo all the work of our forefathers, but there's still a fighting spirit here that simply won't die because too many families have sacrificed too much to just let the weirdos take over.
The Patrick Henrys of the world handed the baton to men like The Bedford Boys – and those "boys" are relying on us to take that baton and run with it. We think we'll stay in Virginia after all ... and continue that fight.
