Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 28, 1994 TAG: 9409280058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Bedford Mayor G. Michael Shelton can't think of a more appropriate site for a national D-Day memorial than Bedford, the community that lost the most soldiers in the June 6, 1944, invasion of Normandy.
And neither can Bedford City Council. On Tuesday night, it unanimously approved a $250,000 incentive package to woo the nonprofit National D-Day Memorial Foundation to build a proposed $2 million memorial in Bedford.
The package offers the foundation as much as 20 acres of city-owned land; perpetual care and maintenance through the city's Parks and Recreation Department; and infrastructure such as restrooms, electricity, roads and parking.
"Bedford's role in D-Day and its impact on this community is unique. There's no other place in the world that experienced the loss of life that Bedford did. It's something permanently embedded in the Bedford community," Shelton said.
Nineteen Bedford-area soldiers who served in Company A of the 29th Division's 116th Infantry regiment died storming the west side of Normandy's Omaha Beach on D-Day. Ninety-one of the 200-member Company A were killed in the assault.
A committee formed by the mayor showed the D-Day memorial foundation three sites last month. One was a small parcel adjacent to the National Guard armory; the other two were on land belonging to Bedford Elementary School.
So far, the top Bedford contender seems to be a 20-acre parcel on a grassy hilltop that overlooks U.S. 460 and the school.
But the foundation also is considering sites in Roanoke, particularly one near Hotel Roanoke. And that has Bedford ready to storm the political beaches.
"Any of the three [Bedford] sites lends the dignity and solemnity to this memorial that it deserves, as opposed to it being sited somewhere that's primarily commercial," Shelton said.
He said Bedford provides a scenic quality that could not be had in Roanoke, and the city's central location between Roanoke and Lynchburg gives out-of-town visitors a choice of accommodations.
"We feel really strongly about it. We don't think of it as an economic development or tourism issue nearly as much as an issue of historical and educational impact."
To that end, Shelton announced Monday that Bedford is sponsoring a program to videotape Bedford D-Day survivors' recollections for a multimedia exhibit at the Bedford City/County Museum. Other City Council members are putting together a study program for the public schools about Bedford's role in D-Day.
The Bedford County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution Monday night expressing support for a D-Day memorial in Bedford.
D-Day survivor Bob Slaughter, who fought with a Roanoke-based company, is chairman of the D-Day foundation.
"I think it's a terrific offer" that Bedford made, Slaughter said, "and I'm sure they really want us down there. Bedford's certainly a legitimate site, but Roanoke can equally argue they have good reason to have the memorial there.
"It boils down to which locality can offer the best site; which [site] will be most accessible."
Slaughter acknowledged that Roanoke was attractive to the foundation because of its convenience to hotels, restaurants and an airport.
Nevertheless, he said foundation members are keeping an open mind until they can meet with Roanoke officials on Oct. 10 to hear their proposal.
The choice of sites essentially has been narrowed to Roanoke and Bedford, but Slaughter said placement of the memorial in either city would depend in part upon the wishes of such localities as Lynchburg, Salem and Vinton, which might consider contributing money toward the memorial's construction.
As for Roanoke, officials already have turned down Mill Mountain as a possible site for the memorial, and they have not come up with a site large enough to match Bedford's 20-acre parcel. Slaughter has said that Roanoke Mayor David Bowers told him that a D-Day memorial was not among the city's top priorities.
Roanoke Public Works Director Bill Clark, who has been to city meetings about the memorial, said Roanoke "has certainly expressed its interest in having the memorial here, and we're working with the [memorial foundation] to see that it comes about."
But for some, the decision of where to place the memorial is simpler than dollars and cents or government incentives.
Bedford D-Day survivor Roy Stevens, who lost his twin brother, Ray, during the invasion, said, "It means a lot to me to have this memorial in Bedford. So many Bedford boys were killed there that morning.
"We paid the biggest price for the invasion of any town in the world."
by CNB