Financial Disaster Looms for National D-Day Memorial
June 3, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
As the 65th anniversary of the Normandy landing approaches, the foundation that operates the National D-Day Memorial in rural Virginia is on the edge of financial ruin, the Associated Press reports.
Opened eight years ago in Bedford, Va., the outdoor museum struggles to attract visitors and is losing donors in the down economy. The small town about 200 miles south of Washington was chosen as the site because it suffered one of the nation’s highest per-capita losses in the key World War II battle.
With a $400,000 endowment and about $300,000 in operating funds against an annual $2.2-million budget, the foundation faces the prospect of layoffs and reduced hours. Its president, William McIntosh, is pinning hopes on the National Park Service or a college or university taking over the memorial.
