WWII ally Stalin finds enemies at Va. memorial

By Rex Bowman

BEDFORD

A bust of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin at the National D-Day Memorial is drawning criticism just in time for Sunday's ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1944 invasion of Normandy.

The placement of the bronze sculpture Tuesday did not end the debate over whether Stalin deserves a place at the memorial among other architects of the Allied victory in World War II.

Other busts at the memorial include U.S. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Some veterans say the bust of Stalin tarnishes the memorial and threatens its ability to raise money, even as it is struggling to stay afloat financially. The memorial's overseers are trying to persuade the National Park Service to take control of the site.

"The Stalin bust dishonors all veterans who are remembered at the memorial and all veterans who have served in the armed forces of the United States and our Allies," said Bedford County resident and veteran James Morrison, who has worked as a volunteer at the memorial. "Stalin was a reviled dictator, responsible for the deaths of millions."

Wednesday, one day after the Stalin bust was placed along the edge of the memorial, visitor Wayburn Norfleet said the National D-Day Memorial Foundation was right to include the bust because "you can't start deleting this, deleting that from history."

"Stalin wasn't a good guy, but he was part of it," Norfleet, 75, of Pine Village, Ind., said. "You know what Eisenhower said at Auschwitz. He said, you take all the pictures you can because one day some S.O.B. will come along and say it didn't happen. You can't delete from history."

The bust sits atop a pedestal on the eastern edge of the memorial.

Sunday will mark the first time Stalin's image will be a part of the annual ceremony commemorating the June 6, 1944, Allied invasion of France to reclaim Europe from Hitler.

Stalin is credited by historians with helping to start World War II by signing a peace pact with Hitler and Germany. When Hitler later betrayed him, launching an attack against the Soviet Union, Stalin joined the Allies. Before and after the war, Stalin was known for his purge of political enemies and innocent civilians alike.

Nick Soukhanov, a Vietnam-era veteran and member of Bedford's American Legion Post 54, said the state chapter of the veterans group will call on the foundation to remove the bust at its July convention.

Stalin's role should be acknowledged, Soukhanov said, "but don't tell it with a bust. Tell it with a plaque."

In defending the bust of Stalin, foundation President William McIntosh referred to the foundation's website (dday.org), which says the bust acknowledges Stalin's part in the war. The Russian leader's troops tied up German forces while the Allies planned and executed the Normandy invasion.

Meanwhile, a plaque accompanies the bust and summarizes Stalin's ruthless leadership.

It concludes: "In memory of the tens of millions who died under Stalin's rule and in tribute to all whose valor, fidelity, and sacrifice denied him and his successors victory in the Cold War."