Congressman Bob Goodlatte has called on the D-Day Memorial Foundation to remove the controversial bust of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin which was recently placed at the National D-Day Memorial, alongside the busts of the true heroes of World War II — Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Charles de Gaulle, Harry Truman and others.
Congressman Goodlatte is a co-sponsor of legislation currently being considered before the House of Representatives which calls on the U.S. Department of the Interior to conduct a feasibility study to determine if the National D-Day Memorial should be designated as part of the National Park Service (NPS). The addition of the Stalin bust on the grounds of the National D-Day Memorial, which is devoted to the heroes of World War II, has added unneeded controversy to this effort to save the Memorial.
As a solution to the ongoing controversy, Congressman Goodlatte strongly urged the National D-Day Memorial Foundation to follow precedent which has been set by the Saratoga National Historical Park in Saratoga, New York.
During the Revolutionary War, the battle of Saratoga was a turning point and American General Benedict Arnold emerged as one of the heroes. However, Arnold is probably most famously known as the traitor who later deserted the Americans and joined the British Army, leading British troops into Virginia.
In 1877, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the American victory at Saratoga, a monument was constructed to honor the American heroes of the Battle of Saratoga. The monument consists of four separate niches – one for General Horatio Gates, one for General Philip Schuyler, one for Colonel Daniel Morgan and the fourth one, which would be for General Benedict Arnold, remains empty. (To view pictures of the monument at the Saratoga Historical Park, containing the empty niche, visit the National Park Service website at: http://www.nps.gov/sara/photosmultimedia/saratoga-monument-virtual-tour-part-3.htm)
“While I have heard the argument that Josef Stalin’s bust should be placed at the D-Day Memorial because of his role in supporting the Allied countries during World War II, making the Communist dictator a prominent part of the D-Day Memorial is inconsistent with our veterans’ fight against the horrors perpetuated by his rule,” said Congressman Goodlatte. “The commissioning of a bust and public display of one’s likeness is a traditional symbol of tribute and honor which is unbefitting a violent dictator such as Josef Stalin. The National D-Day Memorial Foundation should follow the lead of the Saratoga National Historical Park and remove the bust of Stalin from its pedestal, leaving the empty pedestal. His contributions to the Allied victory along with the atrocities that he committed against his own people are well documented in the plaque that currently hangs at the Memorial.”
Congressman Goodlatte has heard from numerous constituents, including various local veterans’ organizations, who strongly oppose the placement of the Stalin bust on the grounds of the National D-Day Memorial. In response to these inquiries, Congressman Goodlatte has written multiple letters to the National D-Day Memorial Foundation requesting that the Stalin bust have no place at this memorial which is meant to honor the brave young men who sacrificed their lives to protect the freedoms we hold so very dear.
Goodlatte continued, “Josef Stalin was a paranoid megalomaniac responsible for the slaughter of millions of his citizens and others. As leader of the Soviet Union, he led a campaign of terror including mass executions and forced labor in work camps at home in the Soviet Union and he oversaw the spread of communism throughout eastern Europe and is responsible for the Cold War. The appropriate location for the bust of such a dark and sinister man is off in a dark closet, but the empty pedestal and telling plaque should remain as a reminder of this aspect of World War II history.”
For once Congressman G. has come up with an elegant idea to manage a tangled dilemma. Stalin was a monster equaled only by Hitler. Mao, and Pol Pot. Nevertheless, the heroic struggles of the Russian people before our troops showed up in France sharply weakened Hitler’s armies, so that the D Day invasion was militarily possible. If it had not been for the Russians, there would have been no successful D Day, and today’s English would be speaking German. So, history yes, and Stalin’s paranoid mug, no.