Bedford, Va. ? The National D-Day Memorial Foundation has reached payment agreements with its main creditors and expects to pay back all of its $3.8 million debt in five years, the organization said Friday.

“We hope to have a settlement signed … by the end of this month,” Foundation President William A. McIntosh said.

The $25 million polished granite memorial, built in honor of the Allied forces in the June 6, 1944 Normandy invasion, was deep in debt even before President Bush dedicated it in 2001. In their rush to complete the monument in time for aging veterans to see it, memorial planners outstretched their budgets and built on borrowed money.

Lawrence, Kan., artist Jim Brothers completed several statues for the memorial.

The foundation announced in October 2001 that it owed about $7 million and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November of last year. It still owes money to about 40 creditors, including $1.7 million to Coleman Adams Construction Inc., and $869,000 to Dickson & Associates, the main architect.

Foundation lawyer Rich Maxwell said he would submit a payment proposal for approval by the creditors next week. The major creditors have agreed to the amount they’ll get paid, Maxwell said, but the contract still needs to be written.

In addition to the lingering debt, federal authorities began investigating the memorial’s finances last year and charged former President Richard B. Burrow with fraudulently obtaining loans to help pay construction costs.

Burrow’s trial ended in December with a hung jury. Prosecutors have not decided whether to retry the case.

McIntosh said agreeing on a formal payment schedule ended a stormy period for the struggling institution. The foundation may pursue more loans now, and he said he hoped donors won’t be so skittish about sending money.

“This is the most positive news I’ve had in a year,” McIntosh said. “An organization raising money under Chapter 11 has a very difficult time.”