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By Donna Dunn

Some stories are worth being told again and again. At the National D-Day Memorial, retelling the powerful story of the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944 and the way it changed history unfurls amidst scenic vistas that the Bedford Boys left behind, never to be seen again. Those 19 young men, among 32 who joined the Virginia National Guard in Bedford, Virginia, gave their lives for their country and in the process changed their town forever.

Fast-forward 57 years to 2001, when the National D-Day Memorial was dedicated in Bedford, Virginia, in large part because the community suffered the highest per capita loss in the first wave of combat on D-Day. The ramifications of the battle that day reverberated throughout Europe, leading eventually to the end of the war, the creation of the Marshall Plan and the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

This is the story that Col. William A. McIntosh, Foundation President of the National D-Day Memorial, passionately shares with visitors.

“You must take time to show people these linkages,” McIntosh said, speaking with the eloquence of a former college administrator. “You’ve got to do more than stand and focus on the event. Think of what made it possible, what the consequences were and what the costs were.”

Yet, the story McIntosh is forced to tell, and repeat through local and national media, is one of another struggle, a more modern day one; one that’s less dramatic and more economic in nature.

The Financial Struggle

Telling such a powerful story comes with a price, as many locally who have watched the events of the past decade unfold around the memorial know well. Garnering support for the memorial’s creation is Chapter One of the memorial’s history. From 1989 to 1999, the memorial’s foundation began, fund-raising ramped up and construction started. Then in 2000, with its first major program and its dedication by George W. Bush in 2001, the memorial entered into its second chapter; one plagued with financial strife.

As the plazas, gardens, sculptures and plaques took shape, the costs of the memorial soared. As the debt mounted, the memorial declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Fundraising quashed the debt, but the recession that began in late 2008 caused donations to drop off and deficits to climb.

“There are a lot of misconceptions out there,” said Sergei Troubetzkoy, Director of Tourism for Bedford. “A lot of people think that what’s causing this current challenge is what was challenging a few years ago. But [the memorial] is not in debt. Their financial problems now are really tied to the economy.”

The 2009-2010 winter looked to be so grim that in September 2009, McIntosh told USA Today, “I cannot say we will get through the winter.”

The foundation, after cutting 11 of its 24 staff, considered the possibility of a by-appointment-only operation during the winter months but decided against it. In March, the memorial began selling tickets at the Bedford Welcome Center, located near the entrance to the memorial, instead of at its own ticket booth, and it began closing on Mondays.

“It was an exceptionally difficult winter for us,” McIntosh said. “Each year we’ve gotten through, but we’ve had to endure some real privation.”

Though the memorial did remain open, bad weather kept it closed for a number of days. Because of the outdoor nature of the venue, snow and ice could often not be removed without damaging the memorial’s plazas and tableau. With about 75,000 visitors a year, 12,000 of which are school children, the memorial suffers great visitation loss during cold and wet conditions.

“The product you’re selling is a story, and it’s a story that requires you to be physically present to get it. You’re going to have about half of your year fallow [due to weather],” McIntosh said.

Still, he maintains, “We’re in no more desperate shape than we have been in the last few years.”

Though he is set to retire after 23 years with the memorial’s foundation on June 30, 2010, McIntosh looks to the future.

“We’re really in the process of closing the second chapter of the memorial’s history,” said McIntosh.

He hopes the third chapter will include stability and growth.

“If I were writing it, the plan indicates ultimately creating on the facility itself an interpretive center…and I would hope we could complete the sculptural program,” said McIntosh.

The Role of the Park Service

That third chapter may or may not have a new main character: the U.S. National Park Service. In a flurry of lobbying and legislating, Congressman Tom Perriello (VA-05) and Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Jim Webb proposed federal legislation to consider the memorial’s appropriateness for inclusion in the National Park System.

The legislation, part of the National Defense Authorization Act, passed in October 2009, and Virginia legislators applauded the approval.

“This tribute to the sacrifice and valor of the Bedford Boys is not just a local treasure, but a national one and deserves to be a part of our nation’s heritage for generations to come,” said Perriello in October. “I’m grateful for the tireless work of Senators Warner and Webb and thrilled to see our bill headed for the President’s signature.”

This legislative move came as the memorial also pursued a separate initiative through the American Antiquities Act of 1906. Using an executive branch approach, the Park System sent a team in August 2009 to make a preliminary visit.

“The memorial stands as a symbol of the courage and sacrifices of all members of the United States and Allied Forces who began the liberation of northwest Europe as part of Operation Overlord,” Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, said.

If the Park System were to deem it appropriate to include the D-Day Memorial, the secretary would have to make that request to the President of the United States. This executive move is completely separate from the legislative study.

Yet, even with legislative and executive branch maneuvers, the possibility of the D-Day Memorial becoming the National Park’s 393rd park is uncertain.

“A lot of towns were affected by World War II and D-Day,” park service historian Gerry Gaumerm said in a September 15, 2009, USA Today article. “The question is whether we can afford to run it and is it nationally significant enough…or is it something we already have?”

According to that same story, at least 25 historic and scenic sites are being considered for national park status, including where George Washington crossed the Delaware and sites near Massachusetts’ Plymouth Rock where the Pilgrims landed. To give the D-Day Memorial’s National Parks study a boost, Perriello made an appropriations request in March 2010 to provide funding for the special resource study. If funded, the study would have to be completed within three years.

While the possibility of becoming a National Park has been attractive to many, the process has caused some confusion and misunderstanding, according to McIntosh. First and foremost, no matter what comes of the requests, it is not a quick fix. Further, saying that the study should be done and saying the D-Day Memorial should be run by the federal government are not the same, he clarifies.

“Nobody wants to take the step to say this belongs in the Park Service until the Park Service can look to see if it fits,” McIntosh said.

Some sites, he points out, have gone through the study and one or both parties decided not to proceed. Even if it becomes a National Parks site, McIntosh says there could still be local involvement in the form of a “friends” group that would support the site while the Parks Service runs it.

“There’s a wide range of possibilities,” he concluded.

The Story Left to Tell

In the meantime, the D-Day Memorial Foundation continues to seek new sources of funding. They have also been building an endowment, though very slowly. With just $400,000 currently, McIntosh said at least $28 million is needed for an endowment to be used without its principal being depleted.

Troubetzkoy said shifts such as moving ticket sales to the Bedford Visitor’s Center show that the memorial is trying to use all the resources at its disposal.

“I know financial hardships can be hard on any place, but sometimes it can be a positive…you come up with some creative solutions,” he said.

Troubetzkoy, who came to Bedford from Staunton, said the challenges facing the D-Day Memorial are not unlike many other tourist sites.

“I can’t think of any museum or attraction that hasn’t gone through chapters…they’re constantly changing. They’re constantly evolving. If they don’t, they don’t succeed,” he said.

He understands such a site’s need for repeat visitors and often encourages local residents to go out to the D-Day Memorial.

“I constantly run into people who say, ‘I’ve been to the D-Day Memorial.’ I say, ‘When was the last time you’ve been?’ If they say, ‘Three years,’ I say, ‘Then you haven’t seen the Memorial,’” he said. “Every time I go, I see something new. You get up there and it’s just amazing, not only the memorial, but the vistas. It has a great view of the mountains and the town.”

Troubetzkoy, like many who live locally, believes that the community has too much invested in the memorial to let it just fade into history.

“Yes, there are challenges, but they’re meeting those challenges,” he said. “My hope is there is a way found that will ensure the long-term sustainability of the memorial—that something will be worked out so that we will always know it will be here.”

McIntosh echoed those sentiments.

“My hope for the memorial is what it has always been — that it will become secure and continue to transmit the lessons and legacy of one of the watershed events of modern history,” he said.

Still, for the D-Day Memorial, how that next chapter will be written remains to be seen.
For more information about the D-Day Memorial and the 66th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, visit www.dday.org.