D-Day Memorial in Bedford laying off half its staff

Bedford (WBQB/WFVA/AP)  -- The financially troubled National D-Day Memorial will lay off nearly half its staff. The president of the foundation that runs the memorial in Bedford says that 11 of the 24 full- and part-time staff members will be laid off Dec. 1. He says the layoffs come as the outdoor museum enters the slowest time of the year, and it may only be open by appointment. Officials say the memorial was on the verge of closing because donations are down. The National Park Service is studying whether the memorial can be transferred to the agency. The memorial to the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, during World War II is in Bedford because the community suffered among the nation's highest per-capita losses on D-Day.