The National D-Day Memorial Foundation’s president is retiring after nearly a decade of steering Bedford’s acclaimed, fiscally strapped attraction through trying years of debt and a weak economy.
William McIntosh, 66, is the memorial’s second president. He has served in that capacity for the past nine years.
McIntosh declined an interview with The News & Advance on his retirement out of respect for the new president, he said.
Robin Reed, a past director of the Museum and White House of the Confederacy in Richmond, will take over as the foundation’s third president. His first day is Monday, June 28.
Richard Maxwell, who serves on the foundation’s board of directors, spoke highly of McIntosh’s leadership. He said McIntosh performed well in uneasy circumstances.
“It doesn’t get more challenging than that,” Maxwell said. “Just saying ‘good job’ is a gross understatement.”
Maxwell said if not for McIntosh, “There would be no D-Day memorial today.”
“Bill was largely responsible for raising the money necessary to retire the outstanding debt of the foundation,” he said. “Obviously a lot of people played a role, but without Bill, none of that would have happened.”
From West Point to the Hill CityM
A former West Point instructor who taught English and art history, McIntosh spent 26 years in the U.S. Army. Prior to teaching, he served as an officer in Vietnam. He retired as a colonel in 1992.
He received a bachelor’s degree at the College of William & Mary and a master’s and doctorate from the University of Virginia.
McIntosh moved to Lynchburg in 1995. As an academic counselor, his clientele included the Bedford D-Day Memorial Foundation.
He was named its vice president of education in 1998.
President George W. Bush dedicated the 88-acre memorial on June 6, 2001 with much fanfare as thousands gathered in Bedford.
About 75,000 people visit the memorial annually, and it holds a number of events and ceremonies to honor veterans and educate the public each year.
Fighting for ‘debt free’ status
In July 2001, McIntosh replaced Richard Burrow, the foundation’s first president, who was hired in 1996. Burrow announced he was resigning because of health reasons.
Several months later, the memorial revealed it was $5 million in debt to its contractor, architect, landscaper, sculptor and bank.
Former foundation director Richard Burrow was tried twice, in 2002 and 2004, on federal charges that he used an illegal scheme to raise money for the $25 million memorial.
In each trial, jurors were unable to reach verdicts and the charges were dropped.
McIntosh distanced the memorial foundation from legal issues surrounding Burrow, who maintained his innocence and was never convicted.
McIntosh said at that time that he had approached investigators in an effort to maintain the foundation’s integrity and to ensure nothing improper occurred on its part.
In 2002, the foundation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing a $3.8 million debt. In March 2003, it announced the successful conclusion of mediation with creditors, who agreed to receive payments over five years and not seek further litigation.
The memorial announced in 2006 it was debt free.
McIntosh “should get a huge amount of credit for that,” Maxwell said.
A call for government backup
The memorial, like most nonprofits, soon endured further financial hardship when donations and visitation decreased due to the economy.
McIntosh said in mid-2009 that the memorial was facing the prospect of closing without new management for sustainability or a major increase in revenue streams.
One option was clear, McIntosh said at the time: The memorial would not assume any more debt.
He lobbied lawmakers in 2009 to include the memorial in the National Park Service system.
Speaking before a Congressional committee in October 2009, McIntosh said the government should have managed the memorial from the outset.
“From the very inception to the present day, everyone has proceeded with the best intentions,” McIntosh said in a May 2009 interview with The News & Advance. “It was fragile from the day it was incorporated … it needed to belong to a parent corporation.”
In late 2009, the foundation laid off nearly half of its workforce of two dozen employees because of fiscal cuts.
A federal study is ongoing to determine if the memorial’s becoming a national park is feasible. The process could take two years to complete.
In crossfire of Stalin debate
As McIntosh drove into the memorial’s grounds Monday for a private ceremony honoring his years of leadership, roughly two-dozen protesters waited near the gate holding signs.
“D-Day Board: Take Down That Stalin Bust,” read a sign held by Doug Conary, a Smith Mountain Lake resident angry over the recent installation at the memorial of a statue of the Soviet dictator.
The bust of Joseph Stalin is part of a series of statues recognizing the Allied leaders who shaped D-Day. Many veterans, volunteers and area residents are against its presence, claiming it has no place at the site.
McIntosh has not wavered on the decision to keep it there despite the opposition. It was installed just days before a commemoration of the 66th anniversary of D-Day.
He has said the statue is not an attempt to honor Stalin, explaining that the brutal dictator is part of the story of how D-Day unfolded. A plaque accompanying the bust addresses Stalin’s atrocities, but protester and veteran James Morrison has said he thinks most visitors will never take the time to read it and may get a wrong impression.
The Stalin bust joins statues of the other Allied leaders during World War II — presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The debate represents a division in how to view World War II history: Some say the bust is proper, to remember the whole story, while others feel it isn’t compatible with the memorial’s purpose of honoring the valor and sacrifice of D-Day veterans.
Richard Raymond, a resident of Roanoke, said he had never envisioned protesting at the memorial, but it came to that action because of a “wild hair” idea that he said was an “abomination.”
“He dug his heels in,” said Raymond of McIntosh’s role in its placement. “He’s ultra stubborn and he will not be moved.”
Some protesters said they would not revisit the memorial until the bust is removed.
A ‘watershed’ moment and the future
No matter what the future holds for incoming presidents at the memorial, McIntosh will be the last to have served while D-Day veterans from Bedford were still alive to visit.
Bedford was chosen as the site for the memorial because the area is said to have lost more men per capita at D-Day than any other in the nation. Ray Nance, the last survivor from Bedford who landed on the beach, died in April 2009 at age 94. His hearse was driven around the memorial shortly before his burial in Bedford.
Each year, the ranks of the D-Day veterans who come to the memorial on June 6, the anniversary of the invasion, grow smaller because of age.
McIntosh has referred to the invasion as the “watershed” event of the 20th century.
The mission that remains for the staff of the memorial is preserving Bedford’s role in the story — and the story itself — for future generations.
Lucille Boggess, whose brothers Raymond and Bedford Hoback were among the group of Bedford soldiers killed on June 6, 1944, said she felt McIntosh did a great job.
“I think he worked hard for the memorial,” said Boggess, a former member of its board of directors. “I think he did the job that needed to be done. It’s been hard and I think he gave it 110 percent.”
Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th District, said McIntosh has done a great job shepherding the memorial through grim economic times and has been a valuable partner in ensuring its permanent protection.
“Until we achieve the national recognition the memorial deserves, I know he will be working diligently behind the scenes to see this dream fulfilled,” Perriello said.
“Whether we’ve agreed or disagreed, he’s always been a pleasure to work with.”
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