After five years as president of Emory & Henry College, John Wells will step down at the end of July. He joined the private, liberal arts college in Emory in 2017 as provost before being named president in 2019. John Well. Courtesy of Emory & Henry. An interim president will be named in the next few weeks to serve during the search for a successor to lead the school, which will become a university this fall. In his resignation announcement, Wells cited a desire to spend time with his family, per a release from the college. His wife, Shannon Early, has been hired as associate vice chan ..read more

In less than a week, the 80th anniversary of what came to be known as D-Day will be upon us — and then will pass on by us as time always does. The Allied landings on the Normandy beaches occupy a pivotal place in the history of the world, but they occupy a place in Virginia history as well. Coming ashore that June 6 morning 80 years ago were men who had signed up years before for the Virginia National Guard but had since been called up to the regular Army — and were now in the first waves assigned to break the Nazi hold on occupied Europe. We know the story of A Company from Bedford County we ..read more

More than 85 hours of audio recordings captured the trials that followed Danville’s civil rights movement of 1963 and the sentencing of almost 250 defendants, most of whom were Black.  While the audio has existed for decades, it has only recently become available online for anyone to hear. For decades after the trials ended in 1973, the audio recordings and case files sat untouched in a storage area in the Danville courthouse. In the 1990s, they were rediscovered, organized and transferred from Dictabelts and paper onto CDs and microfilm reels. Screening of “The Movement” at the Library ..read more

Former President Donald Trump is now a convicted felon, 34 times over.  Among the many questions that this raises is a very practical one: Will Americans vote for a convicted felon for president? They have before. Eugene Debs ran for president five times: in 1900 as a Social Democrat and in 1904, 1908, 1912 and 1920 as the nominee of the Socialist Party of America. That last time he ran from a prison cell in Atlanta, having been sentenced to 10 years in prison for sedition after criticizing U.S. involvement in World War I. Despite his conviction and incarceration — or perhaps because of ..read more

Here are some of the top headlines from other news outlets around Virginia. Some content may be behind a metered paywall: Economy: Virginia Breeze to offer east-west bus line in 2025. — Virginia Mercury. Federal judge denies request to delay Dominion’s offshore wind project. — Virginia Mercury. Politics: Bristol approves its 2024-25 spending plan. — Bristol Herald Courier (paywall). Courts: Convictions of Blacksburg surgeon reversed by appellate court. — The Roanoke Times (paywall). Weather: For more weather news, follow weather journalist Kevin Myatt on Twitter / X at @kevinmyattwx  ..read more

This is the after-action report for the Command Group, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division. The battalion’s executive officer was Major Thomas Dallas, who grew up in Martinsville. See all the reports from Virginia units in the 116th. Thomas Dallas. Courtesy of BKP. This is from the statement by Major Thomas S. Dallas, Battalion Executive. The command group went shoreward in four boats from Princess Maude, these boats containing the Beachmaster and party for Omaha Dog Green, the Aid Station, Communications Group and Command Group. Major Dallas’ command party made their start ..read more

This is the after-action report from the Headquarters Company for the 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division. See all the reports from Virginia units in the 116th. Listen to Gov. Glenn Youngkin read part of this report This British military map shows the disposition of naval forces on D-Day. Courtesy of Imperial War Museum. The Company came in on three boats at H plus 40, got one burst of shell-fire on one boat (killing one man) during the approach, but other-wise met nothing but automatic fire. This, the enemy held until they were ready to jump from the ship. As the men dro ..read more

This is the after-action report from the A Company for the 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division. A Company was from Bedford. It was in the first wave and landed on the part of Omaha Beach that was code-named “Dog Green.” See all the reports from Virginia units in the 116th. Listen to Bedford County high school students read part of this report Student readers, from left to right: Maya Lee (0:00), Jacob Lorak (0:22), Monty McNeil (0:41), Zachary Davis (1:15), Maggie Dewitt (2:00), Sienna Harris (2:49) and Brooklyn Toler (3:10) These notes were prepared by GC with seven surviv ..read more

This is the after-action report from B Company for the 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division. B Company was from Lynchburg. See all the reports from Virginia units in the 116th. Listen to U.S. Sen. Mark Warner read part of this report The first boats from “B” hit the beach at H plus 26, and the general area of the landing was as indicated in the over-lay. The sea had been so rough throughout the journey that all hands had had to bail with their helmets in order to keep the boats afloat. As with “A,” “B” was little affected by the enemy fire until the ramps were dropped; the ..read more

This is the after-action report from C Company for the 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division. C Company was from Harrisonburg. It was in the first wave and landed on the part of Omaha Beach that was code-named “Charlie.” See all the reports from Virginia units in the 116th. C Company, 116th Infantry, was brought to the beach in six boats. There were a headquarters boat, and five assault sections. The time of arrival was scheduled for H+50. Each of the boats arrived ten minutes early, except the 5th assault section which arrived twenty minutes after the others. In thi ..read more