Virginia
Virginia War Memorial uncovers a hidden treasure trove of voices of those who survived D-Day
RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia War Memorial in Richmond is a beautiful and solemn place for silence speaks for itself. But hidden deep inside this landmark fresh, voices are adding new chapters to a defining moment of World War II.
As curators and archivists were preparing the D-Day Plus 80 exhibit, the team made a discovery locked away for a quarter of a century.
“Almost nobody has heard these stories,” Virginia War Memorial Executive Director Clay Mountcastle said. ”This is the actual history to tell you what it was like and what they experienced.”
Mountcastle said interviews with 43 veterans of the Normandy invasion are now playing for the very first time.
“It is incredibly riveting to hear what they went through,” Mountcastle said. “So it was amazing to us. It kind of was this moment where we realized ‘Oh my goodness. Look what we have. We have to share this with everybody.’”
The recordings include U.S. Army nurse 1st Lt. Ruth Puryear.
“Then the commanding officer came in with a radio. We heard Eisenhower’s speech to the troops. The invasion of France had begun,” the Richmond was recorded saying.
U.S. Navy sailor StM1c Jerry Gaiter from Richmond, who was serving on a destroyer off the coast of D-Day, provided another voice from the past.
“Finally about noon they called us in for bombardment and we went in and bombarded the beach,” he said. “It was pretty rough that first day.”
The raw conversations were recorded in the late 1990s and early 2000s as part of the Virginians at War series used in high schools across the Commonwealth.
PFC Arthur “Art” Schintzel with the 1st Infantry from Williamsburg was wounded 11 times on D-Day.
“The ramps went down and the bullets came in,” Schintzel said. “It wasn’t long before I received a bullet wound in my left forearm.”
“They were aiming at your body and legs and all so they could put you out of commission,” PFC Henry Myers from Halifax remembered. “As it went on through the day, I passed out I lost so much blood.”
The unedited portions of the interviews were sitting in storage waiting to be found. Hours of stories from soldiers, sailors, nurses, pilots and paratroopers detailing June 6th, 1944 and the battles beyond have been digitized.
“That is when I saw the carnage on the beach what it looked like. The landing craft. Two tanks on fire. Bodies washing in the surf,” SSgt Bob Slaughter from Roanoke said in one recording.
1st Lt. Evelyn Kowalchuck recalled sleeping in a foxhole on Omaha Beach. The U.S. Army Nurse was haunted by what she witnessed trying to save lives.
“We had at times what we call sucking wounds. Chest wounds. Or head wound. When we came home to say England for the night very little was said,” said Kowalchuck. “We just laid there and cried. Something that most of us did.”
It is estimated only 5% of the Memorial’s D-Day interviews were ever viewed.
Glider Pilot Guy DeGenaro, from Richmond, survived delivering infantry into the heart of German-held territory. Fellow pilots weren’t so lucky.
“For a minute or so you don’t know if you’re going to be alive or dead,” Degenaro said. “That was something that stayed with me for the rest of my life.”
Memorial archivist Sylvia Marshall called these rare recordings audio and video a treasure.
“The fact that oral histories are so rarely linear you’re getting a more personal perspective of that day,” Marshall said. “And they were able to really speak to their experiences and speak to this powerful moment of history.”
T/Sgt. Raymond Mays remembers losing a good friend in the hedgerows.
“Bless his heart. A week or ten days later he lost his life,” the Richmond man said. “That was the end of our friendship at that time. He was a great man. A great man.”
Director of Exhibits and Collections Jesse Smith said preserving the stories was priority one.
“Some of these interviews give accounts like none other,” Smith said. “When we converted them to digital some of them were choppy. They would skip. So you could tell the tape was starting to break down.”
Had the recordings been damaged beyond repair, these tales could not be retold.
“Unfortunately when our veterans pass away they take their stories with them,” Smith said.
“Sadly, none of these veterans are still with us today,” Mountcastle added. “That underscores just how important it is to capture those stories when you can.”
By safeguarding and sharing these memories the legacy of these eyewitnesses endures.
“What a sight. Everybody shooting around you. Shells landing around you. Other small boats blowing up,” U.S. Navy Sailor Gerald Thomspson, from Staunton, said.
“This is invaluable to understanding our history. Not just as Virginians but as Americans. When you hear somebody tell their story it’s like they’re still with us,” Mountcastle said. ”There is no substitute.”
They are new voices from Normandy and stories from D-Day that echo across the decades.
The “D+80” exhibit is open to the public at the Virginia War Memorial. Admission is free.
Watch Greg McQuade’s stories on CBS 6 and WTVR.com. If you know someone Greg should profile, email him at greg.mcquade@wtvr.com.
EAT IT, VIRGINIA restaurant news and interviews
Virginia Tech’s ACC Tournament run ended in heartbreaking fashion Tuesday night in Charlotte, as the Hokies fell to Wake Forest 95-89 in overtime. It was a game full of swings. Virginia Tech erased deficits, battled back repeatedly and forced overtime, but couldn’t make enough plays in the extra period.
Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from the game.
The Good: Rebounding dominance and a resilient fight
Virginia Tech did plenty of things well in this game, especially on the boards.
The Hokies outrebounded Wake Forest 45-28, including 21 offensive rebounds, which created 20 second-chance points and repeatedly extended possessions. That advantage helped Virginia Tech stay within striking distance even when the offense stalled.
Head coach Mike Young pointed to the rebounding margin as one of the more frustrating parts of the loss.
“You outrebound somebody 45 to 26 or whatever that is,” Young said. “You’re supposed to win the game. Unfortunately, we did not.”
Several Hokies contributed to that effort. Forward Tobi Lawal led the team with nine rebounds. Centers Christian Gurdak and Antonio Dorn combined for 15 rebounds, with Dorn seeing extended minutes after Amani Hansberry was sidelined with an injury he suffered against Virginia.
Virginia Tech showed its usual resilience. The Hokies erased multiple deficits throughout the game and were able to force overtime in a game where Wake Forest led for almost 36 minutes.
Young praised the fight his team showed throughout the night.
“It’s been a characteristic of this team throughout,” said Young. “They’ve got a lot to them, and great kids to coach.”
The Bad: A quiet night for Neoklis Avdalas
Virginia Tech needed contributions across the lineup in a tight postseason game, but Neoklis Avdalas struggled to make an impact.
Avdalas finished with five points, shooting 2-for-8 from the field. The Hokies’ assist leader was unable to record an assist against the Demon Deacons. He played 31 minutes before spending the final 7:37 of the second half and all of overtime on the bench.
Young confirmed the decision was performance-based.
“I just thought [Jaden Schutt and Jailen Bedford] were playing better than Neo, so that is how it went,” said Young.
Schutt played his most minutes in a game (29) since late January. He shot 3-for-7 from three and made all six of his free throws, ending the night with 15 points.
This game stands in stark contrast to Avdalas’ previous showing against Wake Forest. In that game from Feb. 21, Avdalas scored 17 points, shooting 6-for-14 from the field. He also recorded eight assists and three rebounds that game.
The Ugly: Turnovers early and execution in overtime
THe biggest issue for Virginia Tech came in two stretches: the early turnovers and in overtime.
The Hokies committed 10 turnovers in the first half, allowing Wake Forest to control the pace despite Virginia Tech’s 25-11 first-half rebounding advantage. Off those 10 first-half turnovers, Wake Forest scored 11 points.
“We had some terrible, terrible turnovers,” said Young.
Although Virginia Tech cleaned that up in the second half, only committing three turnovers for the remainder of the game, the early miscues forced the Hokies to play from behind most of the night.
After battling abck all night, overtime is where the Hokies ran out of answers.
Wake Forest quickly seized momentum in the extra period. Guard Myles Colvin gave the Demon Deacons a five-point advantage less than a minute into overtime, making a floater and a three.
The Hokies struggled to generate offense in overtime while Wake Forest capitalized repeatedly at the free-throw line. When Virginia Tech was forced to foul down late, Wake Forest did not allow any chance of a comeback, making all nine of its free throws in overtime.
“They were hitting shots,” Ben Hammond said. “Their point guard had the game of his life today.”
In the end, Wake Forest made the plays Virginia Tech could not.
Virginia
Virginia lawmakers criticize anti-redistricting mailer with Jim Crow-era images – WTOP News
The flyers encourage people to vote against the redistricting effort and feature pictures of the Ku Klux Klan and from the Civil Rights Movement.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones condemned flyers with Jim Crow-era images discouraging voters from supporting redistricting in the state.
The mailers, which Jones told WTOP he first learned about last weekend, featured pictures of the Ku Klux Klan and from the Civil Rights Movement. One such mailer said, “Our ancestors fought to represent us. Now Richmond politicians are trying to take our districts away.”
The flyers encourage people to vote against the redistricting effort.
A group, Justice for Democracy, has been sending out mailers and texts with some clear dog whistles, using varying disclaimers in Virginia (“Democracy and Justice PAC” and “Justice for Democracy PAC”).
Its treasurer is listed as Christopher Woodfin and its address is the same … pic.twitter.com/JvetyKGnbw
— Matt Royer (@royermattw) March 7, 2026
Early voting is underway, as Democrats in the state push for changes to congressional districts that are expected to give them more of an advantage in Congress. They said it’s in response to President Donald Trump encouraging redistricting in Republican-led states such as Texas. Republicans, though, have been critical.
In an interview with WTOP, Jones, Virginia’s first Black attorney general, said the mailers are disturbing, shocking, offensive and deceptive.
“It’s very clear a MAGA-linked group that opposes the referendum is sending these mailers to Black voters, and they’re misusing very, very hurtful imagery from the Civil Rights Movement, even invoking Jim Crow, to weaponize one of the darkest chapters in our history, to scare people into voting no and help Republicans maintain a rigged map for 2026 so they can keep control of Congress,” Jones said.
In a statement, the NAACP Virginia State Conference said the flyers falsely compare redistricting to Jim Crow.
“While the NAACP is nonpartisan, we are deeply engaged in political advocacy to safeguard our communities,” said Rev. Cozy Bailey, president of NAACP Virginia.
The purpose of the mailers, Jones said, is to “suppress the vote. It’s to make sure that people don’t go make their voices heard during this election.”
The flyers said they’re paid for by a group called Democracy and Justice PAC. Former Virginia Del. A.C. Cordoza, a Republican, is listed as the chairman, according to Virginia Board of Elections documents.
“I couldn’t see why they say it’s insulting,” Cordoza told WTOP. “I’m a Black man. I don’t want my Black vote to be taken away.”
The proposed new map, Cordoza said, “ripped apart majority-minority districts in order to increase the number of white representatives from Northern Virginia.”
Cordoza said he didn’t know how many homes the mailers had been sent to or how much the PAC spent on them.
“I want people to do their research and see exactly what’s happening,” Cordoza said. “We, as Virginians, voted for a bipartisan redistricting commission for a reason.”
Jones, though, said he sits “across the dinner table from people who have had their right to vote denied because of the color of their skin. It’s 2026. I would hope that we’d be past tactics like this, but clearly we aren’t.”
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RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger met with public safety leaders from across the commonwealth Monday as part of a “unified readiness” coordination effort.
The governor met with police and fire chiefs, sheriffs, emergency managers and private sector members — including Dominion Energy — to discuss Virginia’s commitment to public safety, intelligence sharing and interagency collaboration.
“As global tensions continue to evolve, I want to be very clear: there are no known threats specific to Virginia at this time,” Spanberger said. “Today’s briefing was about making sure that information can be shared quickly and we remain at the ready.”
The meeting relates to Spanberger’s Executive Order 12, which she says reaffirms Virginia’s commitment to public safety, community trust, and readiness.
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