by Eric Dondero

The National D-Day Memorial Foundation Park is located in Bedford County, Virginia. The National D-Day Foundation has sparked a controversy for including a bust of famed Soviet mass murderer Josef Stalin. A public-private partnership, the D-Day Park may soon become part of the National Parks if pending legislation is passed in Congress.

The Park lies within the District of Congressman Tom Perriello. But the Democrat has been careful in his criticisms of the Stalin bust, only saying that it's sparked "unneeded controversy." In a letter (pdf) to Foundation Chairman Robert M. Bradley, Perriello mentioned that he believed the bust was inconsistent with the goals of the Foundation, but made no mention of Stalin's atrocities, such as the mass starvations of the Kulaks, and his murderous record of ethnic cleansing against tens of millions of Poles, Ukraniuns, Jews and numerous other groups.

In stark contrast, the Republican Congressman from the neighboring district Rep. William Goodlatte however, has taken it on as a cause celebre.

From the Lynchburg News & Advance:

Goodlatte adds that he has heard from numerous constituents opposed to the Stalin bust, and in response, the Congressman wrote the D-Day Foundation multiple letters requesting that the bust be removed.

Goodlatte is quoted:

“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,“

Of course, FDR had a warm friendship with his pal "Joe" during the War. And his appeasement is credited with the handing over of Eastern Europe to Stalinist repression.

Only fitting; a member of the Party of Dwight D. Eisenhower gets it right, while a member of the FDR Party can only muster a half-hearted protest.

Photo from the 2007 film Katyn on the Soviet murderous rampages against Polish officers in 1939/40.