Click here for a copy of the National D-Day Memorial's sample letter
Facing “the very real prospect” of closing after eight years because of financial troubles, the National D-Day Memorial is urging supporters to enlist the help of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine in convincing President Barack Obama to declare the Bedford site a U.S. monument.
Doing so could hasten the process of having the National Park Service assume operations of the memorial, said William McIntosh, executive director.
“There is a tremendous sense of urgency,” McIntosh said of federal assistance. “Right now we have a modest revenue stream.”
The memorial, which opened in 2001, honors the heavy loss of casualties among Bedford soldiers who landed at Omaha Beach in June 1944. Ray Nance, the last remaining soldier with local ties to Bedford to take part in the invasion, died in April at age 94.
A week before the memorial commemorated the 65th anniversary of D-Day in early June, McIntosh disclosed its need for more revenue to keep operating. The memorial, which has an annual budget of $2.2 million, is facing a $1.6 million shortfall in donations due to the struggling economy.
In response to public inquiries of how to help, McIntosh said the memorial foundation is asking those concerned to write to the governor to help secure its future.
“We’re not trying to make a massive lobbying effort,” said McIntosh. “We’re simply asking the state’s chief executive officer to do what he can to help preserve this national treasure.”
The memorial foundation has a sample letter posted on its Web site that requests Kaine to urge the president to declare the attraction a federal monument.
“For the memorial’s gates to close mere weeks after the free world marked and celebrated the 65th anniversary of D-Day would be a national disgrace,” the letter states.
Gordon Hickey, a spokesman for Kaine, said the governor is well aware of the concern and will give serious consideration to any letters on the subject.
“We’re proud that the D-Day Memorial is in Bedford where it ought to be,” Hickey said.
Lawmakers introduced legislation before Congress last month to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of placing the memorial within the National Park System.
Several lawmakers wrote a letter to the secretary in June asking him to work with the president to designate the current site as a federal monument. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.; Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.; Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-6th District; and Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th District, signed it.
“We have been assured that local authorities and the National D-Day Memorial Foundation stand willing to cede control of the memorial for this purpose,” the letter stated.
McIntosh said visitation to the memorial has been steady in the past several weeks. He said he would not speculate on whether the memorial would be open a year from now under current management, but said, “If it’s under the National Park Service, the answer to that is a categorical yes.”
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