The National D-Day Memorial Foundation in Bedford, Va., has drawn significant criticism for including a bust of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin as part of its memorial. The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is leading an effort to remove the bust; foundation chairman Lee Edwards strongly objected to its inclusion in a June 4 speech:

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, statues of Joseph Stalin have been torn down all over Europe and even in the former Soviet Union itself. The world is closer than ever before to a consensus on the evils of communism and Stalin’s primary role in the worst crimes of the last century. And yet a statue of Stalin is included in the National D-Day Memorial, to be dedicated in Bedford, Virginia.

The foundation points out that Stalin did not even participate in the Normandy landings. Despite the D-Day memorial’s subsequent inclusion of a plaque explaining Stalin’s role and his crimes, Edwards urges citizens to sign a petition to remove the bust.