Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (right), touring the National D-Day Memorial with William McIntosh, was on hand while a federal assessment team weighed whether the site could become a national park.

BEDFORD -- A federal assessment team arrived at the National D-Day Memorial on Tuesday to look into whether the memorial could be taken over by the National Park Service.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, who had asked for the assessment, was also at the memorial, to press the case that it should become a national monument.

"If we can bail out the banks, somehow preserving a critical part of American history shouldn't be beyond the call of duty," Warner said.

The memorial opened in 2001 to recognize the largest land, air and sea operation in military history -- the Allied landing at Normandy, France, in World War II. But National D-Day Foundation President William McIntosh said in May that the memorial is running out of cash and on the brink of closing.

The foundation operates on a $2.2 million annual budget. McIntosh told Warner that the memorial, which has attracted more than a million visitors, would fit well within the nation's park system because of its educational value.

"We're coming to the park service with our hands out, but we're also coming with our arms full," he said.

The three-person assessment team from the U.S. Department of the Interior plans to be in Bedford through today, McIntosh said.

-- Rex Bowman