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Liberty University has considered taking ownership of the financially struggling National D-Day Memorial after being approached by officials from the Bedford landmark.
Related:
D-Day memorial at risk of closing, president says
Liberty University has considered taking ownership of the financially struggling National D-Day Memorial after being approached by officials from the Bedford landmark, Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said Wednesday.
“I just don’t see where it fits with our educational mission at this time,” Falwell said.
“But their proposal — we’re willing to look at it, and they could convince us otherwise with some creative thinking.
“It’s such an asset to this whole region and the men that died; they deserve that honor and respect. But so far, there’s no concrete plans for Liberty to become the owner.”
Liberty has been involved with the foundation over the past year in planning a two-day conference that begins today commemorating the 65th anniversary of D-Day.
More than 30 historians, veterans and others are scheduled to speak at the conference, which also is expected to draw in an attendance of at least 100 people. The conference will be held at the LU Law School.
That conference kicks off a larger celebration of D-Day starting Saturday at 11 a.m., at the memorial. The event includes music, a reunion tent for veterans, oral histories, a USO show and hundreds of luminaries lit in honor of those who lost their lives in the D-Day invasion.
All these events come just a week after Memorial Foundation President William McIntosh said that the memorial is in financial trouble and at risk of closure.
It operates on a $2.2 million yearly budget, he said, and brings in about $600,000 a year from ticket sales, gift shop proceeds and tours.
Barry Moore, LU’s vice president for outreach and strategic partnerships, said the college had been in talks with the foundation on and off for about six months.
“We gave it a good look, and thought it through thoroughly,” he said. “But just too much is going on at LU right now to add a new partner or financial relationship.”
When in discussions with local organizations, McIntosh said, most said either that the memorial would not support their educational mission, or that the financial burden would be too great.
One possible solution came Wednesday as Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th District, introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to bring the National D-Day Memorial under the National Park Service’s supervision.
“The National D-Day Memorial is a reminder of the bravery and heroism of our American armed forces, and we must not let it fail,” Perriello said in a statement. “The men we lost were local heroes, but the freedom and security bought with their sacrifice is a national treasure. So, too, is our D-Day Memorial.”
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., plans to introduce a companion bill in the Senate.
McIntosh said that coming under the leadership of the National Park Service would be a “very desirable scenario” for the memorial.
“I am pleased that it is going to go through both houses of the Congress,” he said, “and I’m hopeful that the events (in commemoration of D-Day) of the next few days, and the attention that veterans and the D-Day memorial will receive will create a kind of excitement that will, perhaps, move the process along a little faster than it otherwise might.”
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Reader Reactions
I think that Liberty made a wise decision not to get involved with the ownership or management of the D Day Memorial. I think that too many colleges have got involved in activities that are not part of the education process. If the economy continues to decline, I would not be suprised to see some colleges fail.
I do think that Liberty’s values and principles would not have been a problem with the D Day Memorial. It amazes me how people speak about tolerance but have no tolerance towards people they disagee with.
Come on Liberty Patriots! Prove you will make up for that $1.6M per year in increased endowments! Your donors think they’ve purchased all the patriotism they need. Show them up!
(Step right up folks! Watch the Bounty scuttled!)
the one thing that i take from all this is the accusation that trying to make peace is selling us out to our enemies.
Oh, right, we have to pile on some more dead teenagers first, fetuses no, young men and women, you bet ya!
Then we can build them a memorial.
And on the “family values” go.
Having the D-Day Memorial open only 6 days a week may help. Then with LU ownership, the 7th day could be used for “Praise and Worship.“ And could you just imagine the great hords of believers baptized in the large pool on Sundays?
I agree that the NPS needs to take over the memorial. This past Sunday my family visited the memorial. My husband is not fifty years old yet. His father arrived on the beaches of Normandy two days after the major event. There were 14 of us in our group and we all learned something pertinent from the memorial. Especially significant were the reactions from the children in learning about what took place and why. I pray that this magnificent memorial will be part of the NPS and continue to serve as an educational tool to both the young and old. It was interesting to thumb through the guest book and read where people from all over the world had recently visited the memorial. What is that movie line . . . build it and they will come?
You know, it is getting much worse around here. Christian censorship is all pervasive. I posted a joke on here that (wait for it) was told to me BY A MINISTER and it was censored because some Christian cry-baby didn’t like it.
At the same time these “God fearing” people have no problem coming as close to talking treason about our legitimately elected President as they dare.
How is Lynchburg any different from Muslim countries that ban jokes about Mohammed? They must pine for the good old days when they could cut out tongues and burn nonbelievers at the stake.
VAResident, I listened to the entire speech this morning. IF you had listened to it also either 1) your ears need checking OR 2)you listened w/ Limbaugh’s ears.
“Blessed be the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.“
I am SO proud not just some but most of us voted for our honorable President Barack Obama.
Varesident I’m sorry that your hatred prevents you from supporting the president as he tries to correct eight years of mismanagement and ineptitude that was historic in nature. The fact is that not some people elected him, but a huge majority of people elected him. Just to remind you of how big a landslide it was, Virginia for the first time in over 40 years went for the democratic candidate. I’m sure you know this since you are still mad about it.
Maybe since you say you are god fearing you should start shaking for you don’t seem to be acting the way you profess. Maybe god is giving you a pass since we are talking about a durned librul.
The problem lablover is that the memorial, though done for the best of reasons, was ill-conceived from the start. There is just not enough of a draw to get the number of people here that is required to support it.
If there were other good attractions near by then it would have worked but the generation being honored is just about gone and their oldest children are now into their sixties. It is a losing proposition. Even with the interest in the Civil War Appomattox struggles with low attendance for most of the year.
Seriously, and I have been having fun with the paper’s all LU all the time mentality, LU cannot possibly do well by an undertaking like this for there is very little upside and very little potential. If it is deemed worth keeping, and I’m not sure about that either, then it will have to be the NPS for there does not seem to be a profit to be made.
No Mr. VaResident, mistaking metaphor for history and fearing death so much you have to cling like a child to absurd fairy tales is “the end of wisdom”. Perhaps, a strong indication that there was never any fertile ground for wisdom to take root in the first place. Sorry.
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