ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 22, 1996 TAG: 9606240063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAMES TOLLIVER JR.
The U.S. Senate has approved legislation designating Bedford as the national home of the D-Day Memorial.
Bedford was chosen as the memorial site because more lives were lost per capita from the community during the June 6, 1944, invasion of Normandy than any other U.S. community. Of the 35 soldiers from Bedford who took part in the invasion, only 12 survived.
On the 52nd anniversary of the invasion this month, organizers of the D-Day Memorial Foundation gave a progress report on funding for the national monument. The goal is to raise $8 million in the next two years and to open the memorial on the 55th anniversary of D-Day.
Dickson Architects & Associates will design the 10-acre memorial, which will also feature a museum and visitors center.
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., introduced the memorial legislation as an amendment to the 1997 Defense Authorization Bill. No federal funds will be used in the construction of the memorial.
For more information on the memorial, call (800)351-DDAY; in Roanoke, 982-5788.
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