Summary: The Battle of Normandy Foundation, a private, nonprofit organization formed in 1985 to honor America's World War II veterans and teach future generations about the war, has sought to build a memorial garden in Normandy, France. However, the Foundation has been plagued by serious managerial and financial problems. The Foundation recently had to appoint its fourth president in six months and change the leadership of its Board of Directors. Also, the Foundation's liabilities substantially exceed its assets. Unless the Foundation obtains enough funding and achieves management stability, it is uncertain whether it can pay to run the Memorial Garden and whether other projects will move forward. GAO's audit found that the Foundation spent the $3 million it received in 1993 from the U.S. Treasury for the design and construction of the memorial garden in Normandy in accordance with the Coins Act. The total recorded cost of the memorial garden through June 1994 was $3.6 million; however, about $400,000 was still owed to memorial garden contractors. Foundation officials concurred with a draft of this report.
