Robey W. Estes Sr. Plaza

Robey W. Estes Sr. Plaza is the third major element of the National D-Day Memorial. A stylized triumphal arch bearing the invasion's code name, Overlord, rises forty-four and one half feet high for 6/6/44. The plaza celebrates the breaching of Fortress Europe and the consolidation of the foothold in France. By D+2, the communications zone, or Comm Z, had begun to take shape as the rear area of a theater of operations, including lines of communications such as telephone lines, roads, railroad tracks, pipe lines, and airstrips, along with logistical bases, forward operating areas, field hospitals, and other agencies and services needed to support and maintain the front. Stylized field tents on either side of the arch symbolize the semi-permanence of the Comm Z, and the surrounding walls recognize units that passed through, defended, or became part of it. Much of the Allied war material moved inland by express truck, making the plaza's designation especially fitting in light of Mr. Estes' strong influence on the trucking industry after the war.

Bedford, Virginia · United States