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I just read that some beech trees at Normandy with carved initials, names, hearts, etc. have been cut down.
So much for France's appreciation for our help liberating their country for the second time. Hey, France, don't call us. We'll call you.
My favorite quote about that situation was a reported exchange between DeGaulle and DDE. DeGaulle allegedly urged Ike to quickly remove the American soldiers from France (I can understand where he came from on that one, because the GI was oversexed, overpaid, and over here -- believe the English had the same feeling.), but Ike is reported to have replied, "All right, it might take a while to dig them all up."
ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
Cemeteries and memorials throughout France, Belgium and Holland are very well maintained. I wouldn't read so much into the incident. Without further information, it could be possible the trees were old and in danger of collapse.
Without further information, it could be possible the trees were old and in danger of collapse.
Appreciate the moderation, Blockade. I'm very much in favor of cutting trees to preserve the battlefields to the point that the surroundings appear as they were. But trees with carvings done at the time is as much a memorial as the stone or the monument. I would hope, in removing deadwood, that at least the stump with the carving is preserved. To me, that is as much a memorial as a diary. But I suppose, in a way, we are not that far apart in our regard for anything that shows that these men were ordinary humans doing ordinary things during extraordinary times.
ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
I don't know much about France, but Ole's post reminded me of an exchange between Eisenhower and an Englishman.
You probably know we speak the same language as the English....sort of. But we pronounce many words differently than they do. Once, when speaking to an English person, Ike said something about his "schedule." Now, while we pronounce it "skedule," the English call if "shedule."
The Englishman laughed at Eisenhower, corrected his pronunciation, and asked, "Where did you ever learn to say "skedule?"
And Ike said, "Why, I learned it in shool."
__________________ "In leaving this unpretentious record, therefore, I seek to do simply what I would have had my fathers do for me.
KINSMEN OF THE COMING CENTURIES, I BID YOU HAIL AND GODSPEED!"
[From his Introduction to "Memoirs of a Volunteer," by John Beatty - published in 1879
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
I don't know much about France, but Ole's post reminded me of an exchange between Eisenhower and an Englishman.
You probably know we speak the same language as the English....sort of. But we pronounce many words differently than they do. Once, when speaking to an English person, Ike said something about his "schedule." Now, while we pronounce it "skedule," the English call if "shedule."
The Englishman laughed at Eisenhower, corrected his pronunciation, and asked, "Where did you ever learn to say "skedule?"
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