Honestly, I’ve had mixed feelings about this. Yeah, the USSR was our co-belligerent against the Nazis (I like to call them co-belligerents; they weren’t really allies). Americans don’t really have an understanding of the staggering cost and sacrifice they made to not just win, but in the worst part of the war, to merely survive. Estimates are 8,000,000 to 11,000,000 combat deaths (KIA, died of wounds or disease, died in captivity as POWs). Another 20,000,000 civilians are estimated to have died.
I can see why they would want to commemorate the event, and to invite those who fought alongside them as participants. And if you want to honor the average Ivan who fought to defend his country, on that basis, I would accept the invitation.
On the other hand, it was an evil regime, led by a tyrant more evil than Hitler, and that in victory denied more people their freedom over a longer time than the Third Reich. The images of Stalin just don’t go over very well, and that means the current regime is not separating the evil regime from the ceremony.
So it’s a dicey issue. I probably would have declined attending and politely told the Russians to not extend an official invite not in disregard of the Soviet veterans, but in honor of Stalin’s victims.
Patton wanted to rearm the Germans and send them after the Russians.
Most of Eastern Europe has nothing but contempt for Eisenhower. That bitter coward and appeaser left Eastern Europe to twist in the wind.
Churchill knew better. He should have convinced Patton to defect to the UK. Lord knows he wasn’t getting any respect from Top Brass in the US.
Montgomery nearly lost the war for them in Operation Market Garden. Had Eisenhower had listened to Patton, he could have ended the war up to 6 months sooner. Market Garden was an idiotic idea by a very mediocre General. Montgomery kept winning and the losing the same territory in North Africa before the US got involved.
At the time, we thought we might have needed the Soviets to help invade Japan. Again, what if.