Page 5 - Demo

Matt Kirby’s sculpture, Final Tribute
“The Memorial is simply telling the story of the invasion,” she argued. “We cannot pick and choose what parts of history we want to tell.”
The majority’s intensity seemed to inhibit those who disagreed. Moreover, the latter were clearly few in number, as the moderator joyfully revealed when he ran out of speakers favoring the bust. Only three individuals had been willing to publicly defend the bust, whereas those against would speak long
into the evening. The audience clapped and cheered for over a minute at this revelation. Meg Ballard—a Bedford resident and
volunteer at the Memorial—was the first
to speak in favor of the bust. Growing up
in England during World War II, she had survived Coventry’s destruction by Nazi bombs. “The Memorial is simply telling
the story of the invasion,” she argued. “We cannot pick and choose what parts of history we want to tell.”2
James Morrison, a veteran and author
of Bedford Goes to War, argued that the Memorial’s focus should be D-Day, not the entirety of the war.3 “It is an affront to veterans and others,” he said. “Stalin ranks with Hitler and Mao as reviled tyrants, responsible for
the deaths of tens of millions of people. Stalin helped start three wars: World War II, the Cold War and the Korean War.”4
2 Justin Falconer, “Crowd turns out for Stalin bust forum,” The News and Advance. July 8, 2010. .
3 Many of Morrison’s statements from the night of July 7 can also be found in his May 24 editorial, “Stalin bust doesn’t belong” published in the Roanoke Times. It can be read online at .
4 John Barnhart, “Majority agrees that Stalin sculpture a total bust,” Bedford Bulletin. July 13, 2010.