A little history lesson, Mr. President - We don't think you really need to apologize for America's actions and involvement in Europe
In alphabetical order -- Sacrifices Americans made just for Europe.
1. The American Cemetery at Aisne-Marne, France. A total of 2289 of our military dead.
We Apologize.
2. The American Cemetery at Ardennes, Belgium. A total of 5329 of our dead.
We are arrogant.
3. The American Cemetery at Brittany, France. A total of 4410 of our military dead.
Excuse us.
4. Brookwood, England American Cemetery. A total of 468 of our dead.
5. Cambridge, England. 3812 of our military dead.
6. Epinal, France American Cemetery. A total of 5525 of our Military dead.
7. Flanders Field, Belgium. A total of 368 of our military rest in peace here.
8. Florence, Italy. A total of 4402 of our military dead.
9. Henri-Chapelle, Belgium. A total of 7992 of our military dead.
10. Lorraine, France. A total of 10,489 of our military dead.
11. Luxembourg, Luxembourg. A total of 5076 of our military dead.
12. Meuse-Argonne. A total of 14246 of our military dead.
13. Netherlands. A total of 8301 of our military dead.
14. Normandy, France. A total of 9387 of our military dead.
15. Oise-Aisne, France. A total of 6012 of our military dead.
16. Rhone, France. A total of 861 of our military dead.
17. Sicily, Italy. A total of 7861 of our military dead.
18. Somme, France. A total of 1844 of our military dead.
19. St. Mihiel, France. A total of 4153 of our military dead.
20. Suresnes, France. a total of 1541 of our military dead.
Apologize to no one for our actions in Europe. Be proud of your heritage. At great expense of life and treasure,
we saved Europe during two World Wars. Remind them of our sacrifice and do not confuse arrogance with
leadership. As Americans, let's all look forward without forgetting the past.
IF I ADDED CORRECTLY, THE COUNT IS 104,366 Americans in Europe who will never come
home to the land they loved.
53 comments:
Links to pics don't work.
americans dont have a heritage. they just wish they did. also, if the americans die in europe, why cant they stay the hell out of places that we dont need them to be? there IS a reason that people are so much happier in europe than in the US. and dont thell me they arent. bcs you dont know. unless you have lived in europe half your life, and then come here when you're forty or so. you cannot, and will not see the difference. but there is one. the US sucks. thats why most europeans that are stuck here are only in this shoddy country because of their job.
anon 12:39not sure if you're ignorant,stupid or just plain mean.Probably all three.Fuck off
ERNursey, sorry for responding to troll bait.Feel free to delete my message along with "it's" and thank you for a beautiful post
I think you are being just a bit simplistic here, in WW1 for example 800,000 Brtish servicemen died with another 200,000 from the Commonwealth. There is no doubt that America was a great asset during WW1 and 2 but that is all they were, an asset. You did not 'save Europe', the wars were shortened by your presence. There was a saying over the last few years that America was late for the first 2 world wars so they were determined to be really really early for the third. Communism fell in spite of US presence in Europe, not because of it. In Europe we think that the US actually makes us more at risk from terrorism because of its recent foreign policy - hopefully Obama can change that.
Please note I am NOT denigrating the sacrifice of ANY serviceman from ANY country.
"Please note I am NOT denigrating the sacrifice of ANY serviceman from ANY country."
It appears to me that you are denigrating the sacrifice and service of every American service member since the Reconstruction.
You are welcome to hate, or be ashamed of the United States of America. Just don't be surprised if you find yourself on the receiving end of a knuckle sandwich when you express this execrable sentiment outside the cozy confines of an anonymous post on a Web page.
Stan Modjesky
Gwynn Oak, MD
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, touch a nerve did I? I say again, I am NOT denigrating the sacrifice of ANY serviceman from ANY country. What I am denigrating is the sentiment from a lot of Americans that they have saved the world. From Europe it looks as if America is causing problems. Invading Iraq for no reason other than oil and to make a few business men even richer. Gauntanamo Bay - no human rights for prisoners, ever hear of the Geneva convention? So no I don't hate America, I quite like Americans, but yes I am ashamed of you and my own country (UK) for allowing torture and murder to be carried out in my name.
Hm...the troll doesn't seem to GET it.
I propose that the US of A immediately leave the european union. We need to pull back all of our troops, businessmen, money, etc. We can then strengthen our borders, create jobs here in America, and pay off our debts.
Oh and the slovenly europeans can then become the butt buddies of the islamofacists.
Hm, wonder how long they could stand the dhimi tax before they whine for our help?
Steve
I've been rethinking the post by the troll.
He says: "There was a saying over the last few years that America was late for the first 2 world wars so they were determined to be really really early for the third"
In my mind I read this as;
the europeans couldn't fight FOR themselves so they were waiting for somebody to fight for them. And they are mad at us for waiting too long to fight "their" fight. WahWahbooho
And the "...really, really, early" snark...just goes to show that they are just a petulant group of people.
They like to be subjugated. (until they can't drink their coffee grown by the sweat of their colonies.)
My grandparents came to America for the opportunity to better themselves. They always looked at the relatives left behind...as the slower thinking ones. The ones that were too lazy to make something of themselves.
Steve
touchy today, are we? well well well. thats americans for you. they have the inability to argue. in debate, they simply insult their opponent. and the americans really arent all that. i happen to go to a school IN AMERICA where they teach us in history class that america saved the world from hitler and japan in wwii. well guess WHAT? britain was doing pretty well on its own. also, australia cleaned the japanese out of many places in the pacific BEFORE the us even bothered to drop by. the us only comes when they themselves are threatened.. and then they come and stomp through everything and ay "we did everything". well guess what, you blumbering idiot. YOU CAME AT THE END!
and what about the coup de tats in south america. chile, el salvador, and guatemala. you freaking idiots took out perfectly good leaders just because they wanted freaking chiquita out o their countries, and because they legalized the communist party. america comes in and starts a freaking CIVIL WAR just so that they can continue abusing people and land for freaking BANANAS?!?!?! i mean, seriously. and then the us denies involvement in these areas for 20 years. i mean, really? come on. and in cuba. they supported military dictators that abused the people. then, as soon as someone comes in who wants to socialize certain aspects of the economy, they scream COMMUNISM! yeah, right. so its o.k. to kill soldiers just to "stop the spread of communism"? HA well, what americans dont get is that SOCIALISM is not COMMUNISM. socialism can be democratic. look at all of western europe. and then you say that "american soldiers are killed fighting in other places." well, if you dont want that, THEN STAY THE HELL OUT OF PLACES WHERE YOU ARE NOT WANTED!!!!
Anon, what the hell happened to you? Were you dropped on your head as an infant? Every country seems to have it's wacky extremists on the left and right, but why would you assume you speak for all Europeans? Or maybe it's the royal "we"? Allow us to honor our fallen soldiers. Save your diatribe for another day. Thank God peopole like you are the minority. Nora
i happen to go to a school IN AMERICA Uh, if this place sucks so much...why are you in school here? Go home and take advantage of your own educational system, tootsie.
Based on your posting skills, it's wasted effort and money; I'll point out your lack of punctuation, capitalization and general grammar skills indicate that you're living in one Hell of a glass house while you're flinging stones.
Nora here,anon.Just wanted to let you know you I made three donations today to the Bob Woodruff Foundation(tweettoremind.org)One for me, one for my daughter, and one for you.Since I don't know your name, I made one up.Hope that's OK.
For clarity, there appears to be 3 different anonymous' on this thread. I have posted the ones at May 24th 1:05am, May25th 6:11am and now this one. So any answers I make will have the initial G at the end to ensure you are accusing me of the right things and to allow the others to put their own points.
G
Having lived in Ireland for 8 years, I didn't notice that folks there were any happier on average than Americans. And it was amazing how many of them would say horrid things about Americans and in the next breath talk about wanting to move to the US. I did point out to a few that if they hated Americans as people that much they might not enjoy it over here since the place is, surprise, full of Americans.
I don't think most of Americans want Europe to treat us like the saviours of the world, but hey, we did contribute something, and we're currently shouldering a goodly share of the burden for European defense, allowing the EU countries to spend far less of their GDP on defense and more on social programs. If we pulled all our assets out of Western Europe tomorrow, the howling would be loud enough to be heard this side of the Atlantic. Because all of a sudden money that is barely there for social programs would have to be reallocated for defense spending.
Anyway.
My great-uncle is buried in the Meuse-Argonne. His mother was too ill to go over to see his grave when the gov't offered to pay for the trip, and they wouldn't pay for any other family members, just mothers. My grandmother, his sister, always regretted never being able to visit it.
what you arent considering, cranky prof, is that perhaps I DONT HAVE A CHOICE where i go to school. minors arent allowed to choose where to go, u know. if they were, goodness knows i would never have stayed this long. i would have been back in a civilized country long ago. mark my words.
Again, I'll point out that you could be making the best of it and actually educating yourself, rather than posting shite -- poorly spelled, ill-punctuated and grammatically incorrect shite, at that -- on the internet.
Frankly, those of us who were born and raised outside the US and are quite happy here would be please to see the arse end of you. By all means, go home as quickly as possible.
(I should add: taking your upset at mummy or daddy's job requiring relocation on the country you relocated to is tacky. You could have been sent to a REAL shitehole, like...Liverpool or Birmingham.)
Dear ill-mannered brat from across the pond. You've got a loonngg way to go before you're ready for Oxford,sweetie.You see, an effective debator must do much more than parrot the tired hackneyed,leftist screed he hears at the dinner table. Your plucky attitude is based on nothing of substance and makes you look silly.
You are so not ready-for-prime-time.You are confronting people that at your age, you should be treating respectfully,even if you disagree with them.
I was going to echo CrankyProf's sentiment re:the breeze on your conceited little backside as you leave, but maybe it would be better you stay here and let her teach you some manners.Nora
Having left school over 30 years ago I am not going to get embroiled in a discussion about education systems as my only experience of US schooling is through programmes such as High School High and others. Are these true to life?
I tried to make a simple point that the US did not save Europe, they did help shorten the wars. The sacrifice by US servicemen is appreciated by myself and my generation but it is only part of the whole ethos of that time. I tried to point out that 8 times as many British troops died in WW1 alone compared to number of US troops who died in Europe during WW1 and WW2 combined. I did not include French troops in that number. In WW2 you have even more European nationalities involved in the conflict.
Since then I have been abused, called a troll and threatened with violence - thanks Steve. If you make comments on blogs you expect your words to be examined and you can expect criticism but please do not compare me to an adolescent who has poor writing skills - which considering he goes to school in the USA may be an indictment on your school system. What he was trying to do was point out that America's involvement in world affairs has lead to civil unrest, puppet governments and many deaths of ordinary citizens throughout the world and I would suggest that if you really do want to know what has happened in your name then you read books such as "Why do people hate America?" and "American dream, Global nightmare".
G
Dear G,
I agree with many of your previous statements. The US really does need to learn to stay out of other countries' business, however, considering the responses that you got, it has along way to go before it will be able to realize this fact. Also, many americans, -again, judging by the responses on this thread- are unable to recognize the flaws with a country that they have grown up in. That can be traced back to a mentality that has been well documented, and even used in US propaganda during World War II: the americans believe that they are invincible and it is their divine right to prove this to other countries. I would also like to add that there is nothing that these people can do about this mentality, or about the fact that they cannot argue (strategy: simply insult the opponent). That is the way they were raised. Having said this, i would like to make you aware of the fact that there are many POSITIVE aspects of this country that are most plainly visible only when one has spent a considerable amount of time in the US. For example, children in the upper grades in school have much more freedom in choosing classes. Furthermore, the US is a good place for many immigrants, considering the backgrounds many come from (think, drug cartels in Mexico).
Cranky Prof:
Concerning your responses to the pesky adolescent: i think that you are being a little too radical. He is most likely only jealous of what he has seen in his own country and wishes he could live in an environment. Or he is angry at the world and needs someone, or something, to take it out upon. Another idea would be that he has no real idea what he is saying (how would an adolescent know the difference between two countries,since there is no way that they have spent a great amount of years in either one), and is therefore simply parroting what he hears from homesick parents. Don't you remember what is was like to be a teenager and be torn in between two ideas or worlds or wishes? Be a little more lenient.
M
Threatened with violence? Hm, wonder where he got that idea....oh thats right when you feel the heat, then redirct the discussion into a lament about how everybody is ganging up on meeeee wwwaahhh
Typical leftist tactic.
Steve
hey!
i just wanted to say.. Although argument is good, perhaps you should try to keep it fair and not insulting. Insult is not the point of debate. Also, M is right. quit ganging up on the adolescent. You seem like a bunch of high school juniors and sophomores ganging up on the freshman. Grow up and become seniors already. Seriously. Teens have committed suicide because of cyber-bullying.
the anon on top of me... leave your sentimentality out of this. you on this thread have, once again, have demonstrated the AMAZING, MIND BLOWING capacity of americans to insult people quite casually and without afterthought. you see, many of the attitudes that have been demonstrated on this thread are, to quote nora, "not so ready-for-prime-time," whatever the hell that means. Perhaps one thing you should learn, is how not to be degrading. the less degrading you are, the more positive results you can hope to expect. this has been well proven in schools throughout the world.
to end my little tirade, i would like to make all of you pedos who asked to see my backside aware that i would gladly see all your backsides on my way out of this "shite" hole.
thanks,
rolly polly trolly teenager
p.s. perhaps you should find bigger fish to fry. im going to go cry in a little corner now..
what i forgot to add..
i presume that you are all merely retaliating with nasty and hurtful words and phrases because you, faithful patriots, are jealous of the fact that i, unlike many of you, have the ability to come up with valid FACT (ask me to cite it, and i will), the vast majority of the commenters of this thread have so far only managed to come up with opinion and appeals to morals. that, my dear friends, is not the way to debate. one can only win a debate with hard fact. otherwise, ladies and gentlemen (yeah, right, more like hounds and masters), its not a debate, merely a melodramatic series of monologues.
rolly polly trolly teenager.
Steve said
"Threatened with violence? Hm, wonder where he got that idea....oh thats right when you feel the heat, then redirct the discussion into a lament about how everybody is ganging up on meeeee wwwaahhh
Typical leftist tactic."
Steve, what are you talking about? Can I quote you? "Just don't be surprised if you find yourself on the receiving end of a knuckle sandwich". Now where I live this argument is used either by thugs and hooligans or by people who have no idea what to say next - which are you?
M,
Thank you for your reasoned response, yes I am aware that their are a great many good things about America - I read books from both sides of the argument. I have met many Americans and have found them charming, polite and generally nice people. What I do hate, and always have, is the American government which thinks it has a right to interfere in world affairs to the betterment of business and not for the people whose lives they impinge on.
Dear rolly polly,
Do you think that calling all Americans "freaking idiots" is NOT an insult to an individual American? Are you feigning shock at our response? Do you get that what a government does, does not describe what an individual person does?
This isn't the place to delve into the many gross generalizations,distortions and falsehoods in your scholarly review.
To me, it felt like all of you were crashing a funeral.The OP was addressing OUR President. I'm sure you have the equivalent of Memorial Day. To us, it's solemn& sacred.Bash away as is your right,on that day it was bad form.
I must admit the "you're just jealous of me" line is almost endearing. I see there really is a kid under all the bombast,though I doubt you'll see many people rushing to your defense after you blasted the anon4:01 for SUPPORTING you(classy)
Start a blog, rolly. I'd love to hear how it goes for you as you share your opinions with the rest of your US history class. There you can post all your "proof".Perhaps you'd like to discuss Britain's treatment of Scotland, Ireland, and it's "colonies" over IT's history.You could call it the Rolly Polly Blumbering Blog.
"Not-ready-for-prime-time" the sobriquet of the original cast of Saturday Night Live(1975-80)Means like B-grade, second string,Check 'em out on You Tube.Nora
i love how you assume that i am from britain. that just makes me grin.
rolly polly
Rolly Polly,
If you want to argue with people older than you, then perhaps you should use more polite language. It is possible to make points that discount a country in polite terms; otherwise the UN would be one big fistfight. Although you had facts to back up your opinion, dont tell others that their opinion is wrong. That isnt cool. Thats just the mark of someone with minimal social skills. Us americans are entitled to our opinion. And, as Nora previously mentioned, this was our memorial day. Even if you dont agree with a country's practices, at least allow them one peaceful day to mourn those who they have lost.
Z
Well,Rolly,it's a little difficult to keep all the anons straight when you are all saying basically the same thing with varying degrees of civility. Glad it made you grin,though. You really did need to lighten up.This has run it's course for me. Parting advice,try to find the best writers you disagree with and study them.You won't be selling your soul, you'll be deepening and broadening your perspective.Nora
HAHAHAHAHA!!!
love this thread....
now the trick is to figure out how many of the "anonymous'" are the same person. and they have conflicting ideas, too... they also occasionally insult each other... have fun!!
No offence people, but unfortunately rolly has a great amount of right on his side. Yeah, you guys dropped in and helped a lot with winning WW1 and WW2. But it is worth remembering that Hitler's ascension to power would have been hard without American money (Preston Bush anyone?) and that in Europe, while the Allies dragged their feet to push the Germans back 1000 kms, the Russians managed the 5000 kilometer pushback a lot better, although their country was under attack and invasion. And if memory serves, the US only crushed Japan by committing a crime against humanity it was never called to pay for.
And it is also worth remembering that Roosevelt gave Stalin all of Eastern Europe at Yalta in exchange for his help. Millions of people died under communism because of that. That blood is also on your hands.
Whether you want to accept it or not, America has done a lot of bad things, and your lifestyle has been for a long time paid for with the blood of millions of people in the third world. Their blood is on your hands.
Remember Chile? There are so many examples of America being in the wrong that I could fill 5 pages. Get over yourselves and learn some humility, beause America the Great is a thing of the distant past. America of the present is morally and financially bankrupt.
However, that is not a discussion for memorial day. You have done a lot of great things and they should be celebrated. However, do not deceive yourselves- America is not perfect and is in many ways behind most of the first world countries. And until you are prepared to accept that, you will keep being dragged down by the weight of your own mistakes. There's a great chance that next time someone attacks you, the rest of the world will just say "they fucking deserved it" and not move a finger to help you.
We could always bring up the dreadful resulst of Eurpoean Colonialism, as well.
Belgium and the Congo?
Britain and India/China>
Spain and South America?
Spain and Mexico?
Portugal and South America?
France and New Guinea?
China and Tibet?
The list can go on.
No first world country is without its nasty little hegemonic/genocidal periods, Soopermouse. It's humbling (and should be) for ALL countries to remember that. To play the "Yeah, but America is WORSE is disingenuous in the extreme -- you know that, and you're better then that.
I'm sorry CrankyProf, but "others have done it too" is not a valid argument, and it's never been one. By the middle of the 20th century most civilised countries realised that colonialism was bad, and stopped it. America continued and it is currently involved in a colonialist war. 60 years later.
It's time for you guys to get over WW2. I know you like to think of yourselves as these big liberating heroes, but sadly that image has faded and it has been long replaced by the torturers and rapists of Iraq. Abir Hamzah, anyone? That is who you are now, and that is what the world sees in you. Soldiers fighting in colonialist wars are no heroes.
Soopermouse, you're my favorite person in the world right now. Unfortunately, cranky's a cranky patriot that stubbornly refuses to see reason. She acts like she was raised in a household like many that are still seen today; the US is good, everyone else should follow its example. There is no room in that mentality for self-doubt. I thkni we may need to be he greater people and let the minions to their self-glorification.
No, I just find the fact that countries that are two generations away from their own depredations are currently clutching their pearls and "Well, I NEVER!"-ing amusing as all Hell.
I find it utterly depressing (yet typical) that those responsible for crimes will never be punished. In all cases, those who followed the orders given -- the soldiers who were damned if they did and damned if they didn't -- will be the ones to take the consequences. Those who are ultimately responsible and deserve to swing (metaphorically and literally) will get sweetheart book deals and a pass because they are of the political class.
The world will get the show trials and the blood they want, but it won't be the right blood they get.
Hypothetical: There was no D-Day. We never sent our Navy against the Japanese. What does the world look like today?
D-Day was a mixture of ENGLISH, CANADIAN, MEXICAN, CHINESE, POLISH, BELGIAN, CZECH, AUSTRALIAN and NORWEGIAN troops. not to forget belgium and now zealand. funnily enough, that seems like a hell of a lot more than just the american troops. go read something other than american propaganda book. then come and comment again.
Also, many other coutires had cleaned up in the pacific before the US decided to get out of bed. In fact, the US was the LAST (get that? THE LAST) country to get involved in the pacific. CHINESE forces (Democratic, Maoist and Loyalists stopped fighting each other to fight japan), the UK (many special ops), BURMESE (british colony, but thousands of burmese fought), VIETNAMESE, the people if the DUTCH EAST INDIES (as few as they were, they were extremely valuable), AUSTRALIANS (by far the biggest- in europe as well as the pacific), RUSSIA, MALAYSIANS and INDONESIANS (HUGE numbers considering the size of the countries), PHILLIPINO troops, SOLOMON ISLANDERS, and one of the biggest, alongside the uk and australia: CANADA!
if youre going to tell other countries how little they did in specific places, at least go and get your facts right.
44,198 Canadians died in WW2. That does not detract from the sacrifice that millions of American's made in WW2. Whether Europeans, my fellow Canadians, or whomever else wants to believe it, the world is a better place because the US is here. Like every great country, it has its problems. I for one, am proud to call America an ally and friend.
Those that denigrate the US, and its involvement in the war, might want to consider a world where the USSR is solely responsible for the defeat of Nazi Germany or worse, the defeat of England by Nazi Germany. The US may have come in late, but they provided necessary manufacturing, womanpower :-), and soldiers who died. Of all the times to ignore that, Memorial day is not one of them.
God bless the USA (and Canada too), but on this day, mostly, God Bless the USA.
No one is saying there weren't any other countries involved. I thought that was so obvious I didn't need to mention it.How would things have gone if there were no US troops, no dollars for armaments,no Eisenhower, no Patton, no Halsey, no MacArthur,etc. You seem to be saying that the US was a late-to-the-party upstart show-off. The Allies of the day didn't think so. But maybe we should've listened to the isolationists and taken a pass. Another fun hypothetical: Montgomery ran the show.
I LOVE this post! Thank you so much! (I am a very patriotic daughter of two US Diplomats.)
America has plenty to apologize for.
But let's make a distinction between the soldiers who gave their lives and the officials who directed their actions.
You can't say "well we had our citizens die, and so we don't have to apologize for torturing at GITMO"
Bless our soldiers.
The US didn't want to get involved until Japan dragged them in with Pearl Harbor. Your country was all fine that it was NIMBY (not in my backyard). Maybe if the US had gotten involved sooner, there wouldn't have been so many deaths in Europe. 55,000 Canadians died in World War II... the ultimate sacrifice. Were there any attacks on Canadian soil? Not one. It's a good feeling to think about someone else for a change. Only one of the reasons why Canadians are loved around the world and Americans are detested.
What's wrong with NOT wanting to get involved with a war?
There is nothing wrong with not wanting to get involved in a war..obviously. Right now in the Congo woman and children are being raped and murdered by rebels from Rwanda. Children have been forced to murder their families and then forced into becoming soldiers. I Iran right now all those protesters are being dragged from their beds and tortured and jailed...nothing wrong with not getting involved at all...why should any of us care about genocide and ethnic cleansing being done right in front of us while we fiight over WW11 and the results of Americas got Talent.
Every second a child dies from malnutrition, malaria or simple diarrhea, why should we fight that war?
Oh right we are busy fighting over world war 2.
We all won ok, glad that's solved.
I love this country a great deal. For that exact reason, I feel that it is my right and my duty to criticize actions which I find unworthy of this country. Thomas Jefferson himself said that, "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism."
To blindly follow a mass illusion -- that the US saved Europe, that the US is endowed by God to save the entire world, so everyone else had better bow to Old Glory -- is more destructive to the very roots of this nation than any outside force could ever be. This country was not founded by those who didn't speak up, who blindly followed the voice of the indoctrinated majority -- in fact, those who did that were Loyalists and sent back to England in 1776.
The very beauty of America is its newness, its freshness, its ability to laugh at itself and be generous in ways in which other, more autocratic states -- Iran, Iraq, etc -- can't afford. True power comes from not being afraid to make mistakes. True power comes from being able to apologize for the things that went wrong.
Hiding behind false images in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, on the other hand, is the sort of thing that those people might do which the US has fought tooth and nail to be free of (and good riddance to them).
You are absolutely right. Thank you for posting this and reminding us of the sacrifices made by more than 100,000 American soldiers who fought to protect many in Europe from tyranny. They fought not only for thier country but also saved France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and England from tyranny, facsism and eventually won the war. As Chruchill laster said "Never have so many owed so much to so few" Thank you for the reminder.
sailingm
Anonymous July 4th, well said, that was the point I have been trying to put over but keep getting sh*tkickers who respond like Pavlov's dogs - "criticise America and we gona get yah boy" said in whatever accent you think appropriate. In my head it sounds redneck.
Sailingm - if you are going to use a quote please use it in context. Churchill was actually talking about the RAF (Royal Air Force) when he made that speech after the Battle of Britain. Incidently, the RAF had boys - and most of them were just that - from all over the world, including a few Americans.
Just as an afterthought, do you think that the people of Germany, who after all are/were Europeans, felt that they had been saved by the USA?
G
Hi,
Though the quote may have been out of context, I simply felt that the words are just as accurate when speaking of the many soldiers who lost their lives in WWII and I have feeling that Churchill and other leaders might feel the same way.
I am not discounting the roles of other nations in the allied war effort. The soldiers of Britain, France, the netherlands, and all others who participated paid just as high a price as we did. They fought longer and a great many made the final sacrifice and should be remembered for it.
Though the United States did not formally enter the war until December 9, 1941, it was involved, in some ways, from the beginning. In 1940, the only thing that stood between the United States and Germany was Great Britain. It is qite clear that President Franklin Roosevelt knew that war was iminent. The United States lent arms to Britain. In addition, the United States military began buying up land for bases that would be needed during the coming war. In fact, my grandparents arrived at their summer home in Florida and found a stating that they could either sell the land to the military or they would be evicted from the premises. They sold the land for less than what it was worth. Tyndall Airforce Base now stands on that location.
When the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941, the Us first declared war on Japan. However, the Japanese had signed a treaty with Germany, who also declared war on the United States, so by the end of that week, the US was embroiled in World War II. No, the Us didn't win singlehandedly, but we did have the largest and freshest army in Europe at the time.
However, the pictures on this website were posted on Memorial Day, a day when we remember the many soldiers who died that we might live in freedom. (The very people who dies so that you could freely express your opinion on this site.0
To answer your question concerning Germany, there was opposition to Hitler's policies there as well. I personally know a musician, the son of a Lutheran minister, who was born in Germany and forced to serve in the German military. While he was fighting, his father preached one sermon on the Gospel (it was not a controversial subject and did not mention the regime.) However, this sermon offended the establishment and he was sent to a labor camp. He was released at the end of the war, but was never the same. He killed himself in 1947. His son emigarted to the United States after being captured.
In answer to your question, yes, I think that the allied push saved Germany as well. It certainly got rid of a dangerous and terrifying regime.
Furthermore, if Hitler's regime was so popular with the German people, why did several of his generals try to kill him?
Sailingm
:D spot on
Wow
Great site. I just started my own site and am searching through other medical blogs. Nice job. I'm writing more from a human element angle from my ER experiences...
I will be following. Again, nice work.
I don't like communism! this kind of system really sucks.
Links to pics? what do ya mean by that bro?
Well, I see no problem with relationship to other countries. Yet, improving one's difficulties through helping each other.
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