News release: On Monday, January 7, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. the National D-Day Memorial Foundation will break ground on the third and final Quonset hut installment, which will provide an education space and a climate-controlled artifact display area. The “Fleda Hut”, named to honor late benefactor Fleda Ring, will be dedicated Memorial Day 2019. Benefactor Peter Ring, Fleda’s husband, will join Foundation leader or Monday’s groundbreaking. The new Q-hut will replace the current education tent with a more permanent facility.
The tent, named the John Robert “Bob” Slaughter Youth Learning Center, has been a part of the Memorial since 2002. It will eventually move into the education center, a large facility slated for construction within the next few years. Once the education center is built, the tent will remain the primary learning center and creative space for students and will still bear Memorial founder Bob Slaughter’s name. In the meantime, the new education Q-hut will offer more space and enhancements with technological features for presentations as well as formal display cabinets to house some of the Memorial’s extensive artifact collection.
“The new ‘Fleda Hut’ education space and the Bob Slaughter Youth Learning Center are just a few ways we will keep the memory of our veterans alive as we ensure their stories are shared for generations to come,” said April Cheek-Messier, president of the Foundation. “This is a critical addition to the Memorial and a timely one as we approach the 75th Anniversary of D-Day in June. Our veterans will see first-hand that our mission continues.” When not in use for school programs, the Q-hut will be open to Memorial visitors.
