Never, Ever Trust the French

Save the graffiti! Save the graffiti!

every last french i know is a beslubberring, toad-spotted hugger-mugger!

And every tree I know lasts forever.

Although it could make a neat art project. Peel the bark and mount it.

I don't care much about cj's nonsense and hatred.

I just wanted to say that there's some other spirit alive in France and that one is love, respect and tolerance:


Jennie Malcolm received this photo of her uncle Walter Malcolm's grave from the French volunteer group Les Fleurs de la Memoire. "It was quite an emotional experience," she says.

Flowers of memory

The elementary school students of Henouville, France were the first to photograph these trees, in 1998 (between 1944-45 the staging areas named for brands of cigarettes were situated close to the village.)

The students found, in a local wood, trees carved with the names of soldiers from the camps. They traced back some names and interviewed at least one former soldier.

Trees close to (sic!) Camp 20 Grand, phto 1998


Interview


Actually, when you read all those reports by soldiers (google finds dozens), no American stayed longer than a couple of days in those camps.

France has granted in perpetuity the land upon which Allied graveyards and monuments stand.

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial



The American monument at Belleau Wood

After this particularly bloody battle, in which the United States Marines suffered the highest casualty rate to that point in their history, the French government officially renamed Belleau Wood, Bois de la Brigade de Marine, the Wood of the Marine Brigade. Marine Captain Lloyd W. Williams of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines: "Retreat? Hell, we just got here."

The American monument at Bellicourt

This commemorates the more than 300,000 Americans who took part in the Chateau-Thierry campaign in June, 1918, which ended to final German offensive of the war in the west.

The American monument at Catigny

This monument commemorates the battle of Catigny, a part of the Chateau-Thierry campagin, and the first offensive battle by American troops in the Great War.

The American monument at Chateau-Thierry

This monument, near several American cemetaries, commemorates the sacrifices of the Americans in this campaign along the river Marne, which ended that last hope of the Germans to mount a successful offensive on the western front. The United States Army and the United States Marine Corps suffered a total of more than 67,000 casualties in this campaign.

The American monument at Montfaucon

This monument commemorates the American part in the Meuse-Argonne campaign, final offensive of the war, in which nearly one and a quarter million American troops participated, with more than 25,000 killed and nearly 100,000 wounded.

The American monument at Montsec

This monument commemorates the American offensive at Saint Mihiel near the end of the war, when American troops, supported by nearly 50,000 French troops, drove the Germans from their advanced works, and forced them to retreat to the Hindenberg line, their last line of defense. (It is worth noting that the "French" troops involved were actually a corps of French colonial troops--the black Africans and North African muslims that Bridget Bardot seems to think are ruining her country.) American and French casualties were really rather light--only about 7,000--because of careful planning and Colonel Patton's use of tanks in support of the advancing infantry.

The American naval monument at Brest

Commemorating the United States Navy's contributions in the Great War, this monument was destroyed by the Germans in 1941. It was rebuilt as an exact replica of the original monument.

The American monument at Point du Hoc

This monument commemorates the sacrifices of the 2nd Ranger battalion, which scaled the cliffs above the Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944, and silenced the German artillery which could have swept the beaches--they held the position against repeated counterattacks at a horrible price. The monument was originally built by the French, and was transferred to the American Battle Monuments Commission in 1979.

The American monument at Sommepy

This monument commemorates American operations along the Marne River during the Great War.

The American monument at Tours

This monument commemorates the more than one half million Americans who worked in supply services in World War I, and did a lot of hard work but got none of the "glory."

The American monument in Normandy, at Utah Beach

This monument commemorates the American landings in Normandy in June, 1944.

These are all just the monuments maintained by the American Battle Monument Commission, and does not include the monuments to Americans erected and maintained by the French people. I did not list all of the American cemetaries, as the list would have been too long for this post.

All the American monuments in France, whether under the control of the American Battle Monuments Commission or the French government, along with all of the American cemeteries, have been granted in perpetuity to the American people.

The French-Australian War Memorial was erected at the expense of the French government, and was presented to Australia in a ceremony in 1961. The memorial and its grounds, and all the cemeteries of Australian troops in France have been granted in perpetuity to the Australian people.

The Australian monument at Villers-Brettoneux was dedicated in 1938 by King George VI (father of the present Queen), and commemorates the Australian war dead in the Great War. The village was liberated by the Australians on April 25, 1918. Every year on Anzac Day (April 25th), the local population holds a commemorative service for the Australian war dead.

The Australian monument at Le Hamel commemorates the entire Australian Corps which fought in France, and which captured Le Hamel on July 4, 1918. The land was donated to the Australian people in perpetuity in a ceremony on July 4, 1998.

The British monument at Thiepval commemorates the frightening sacrifices which British soldiers made in France at the Battle of the Somme (more than 50,000 casualties on the first day alone). It has been granted in perpetuity to the British people.

There are so many monuments to British and Commonwealth troops in France that it is easier simply to link the Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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As usual, Tinkerbell doesn't know what Hell he's talking about. He just wants to vent his hatred of anyone who is different from him.

Look, there's a big, fat, cheese eating surrender Peter Pan monkey now!

Anybody else get an image of a bird pecking at its reflection when cjhsa gets like this?

I ate that bird.

I have no grudge against birds so great that i would subject them to such an invidious comparison.

Admit it, I bring out the best in all of you. If it wasn't for me, you'd all be sitting here in a giant, liberal circle jerk.

I leave it as an excercise to the reader to find the jerk in this particular circle of folks.

So you admit you trust the french?

In a world where self-preservation is hard-wired into our brains, why trust anyone or any nation? And, trust to what end? I trust people to be ingrates or self-serving. Oh yes, I trust people to be ethnocentric and closet bigots. I put my trust in humanity acting like humans.

Well, you certainly have not made a case for the proposition that the French are untrustworthy. Instead you have given us just a vivid example of your own prejudice and intolerance.

Re: Never, Ever Trust the French


As usual, cjhsa, you deliberately twist and over-state the case. It was his land and he couldn't afford to pay for the pruning. Simple economics. Set's post outlines the many monuments the French have erected in homage to the U.S.

Re: Never, Ever Trust the French


Well said. perhaps it is worth recalling that the statue of Liberty that so proudly adorns the narrows in New York harbor, was a gift of the French people, paid for by popular subscription among them.