Posted on 06/01/2011 11:30:52 AM PDT by ShadowAce
JFK’s Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60′s when Charles de Gaulle decided to pull out of NATO. De Gaulle said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible.
Rusk responded, “Does that include those who are buried here?”
DeGaulle did not respond.
You could have heard a pin drop.
***
When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of ‘empire building’ by George Bush.
He answered by saying, “Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.”
You could have heard a pin drop.
***
There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying, “Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intend to do, bomb them?”
A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: “Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?”
You could have heard a pin drop.
***
A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of officers that included personnel from most of those countries.
Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, “Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?”
Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, “Maybe it’s because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn’t have to speak German.”
You could have heard a pin drop.
***
And finally…
Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.
“You have been to France before, monsieur?” the customs officer asked sarcastically.
Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.
“Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.”
The American said, “The last time I was here, I didn’t have to show it.”
“Impossible. Americans always have to show their passports upon arrival in France!”
The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, ”Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn’t find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to.”
You could have heard a pin drop.
Great post.
These are great! Thanks.
You’re welcome!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Overlord#Cherbourg
While this does not come close to the other allied losses in absolute terms, you also have to remember that the USAAF plastered the heck out of the Normandy region, focusing on railyards & bridges and this created a lot of French civilian casualties.
There was also a large Free French Army that landed alongside US forces in Southern France in August 1944 (Operation Dragoon).
The French can be bothersome but they did participate in their own liberation.
Yep, and when asked to leave, we do, leaving the natives looking at a devastated local economy and. when their neighbors start rattling sabers, wondering about the wisdom of running us off.
GREAT, thanks!
You’re right, there were no French regulars, but the resistance did much to prepare for the invasion. I’m not a giant historical fan of the French, but without the French we wouldn’t have been a country, and of late, the French President seems to have assumed the ‘Leader of the Free World’ mantle.
well to put this in perspective it would be wise to consider the French losses in WWI, and then see if that gives you a little insight into the way the French fought WWII. Full disclosure, I’m British.
I’ve often wondered if wars don’t do a tremendous job to the detriment of the “breeding stock” so to speak. Imagine all the Mountbatten types who were killed while the Blair/Clinton types who avoid service survived. I suspect the constant wars France were involved with really screwed the type and quality of the males who remained to father future generations. Your point regarding World War I is well taken.
Bases that we negotiate and pay for.
Thanks for the update, though!
In uniform, this is so and it was arranged to be so by SHAEF, for propaganda purposes with DeGaulle at the lead.
However, the Resistance (some commies, some not) provided incomparable support and force protection for the Allies. And, they did this upon activation by coded message (”Wounds my heart with monotonous langour”) announcing D-Day in all areas of France including the pro Nazi Vichy controlled South.
The Maquis were an exceptional example. And the people paid with their lives. About which see: Nancy Wake link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Wake
The town that was no more... Oradur-sur-Glane. Link:http://www.oradour.info/
The entire town (642) was wiped out by Waffen-SS in reprisal for their having Maquis elements who had kidnapped (following pre-arranged D-Day orders from the OSS) General Kampfe (whom they quickly killed when the Germans began to kill off other villages in their search.
The town is now a museum, left just as it was.
I would not generally say the “French” are or were, chickens, but they have been generally poorly lead and have had much to recover from over the last 140 years.
bkmk
French leadership since the Franco-Prussian War could write a book on how NOT to lead a nation or a military.
In fact if such a book existed you use it to have a well led nation and military by doing the polar opposite!
To 4 - No.
Yeah saw that after I posted.
Everyone thought DeGaulle was a regular nose bleed.
I’ll add another anecdote.....
Shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was an international conference consisting of high ranking military officers from a number of countries.
During a lunch time break from the meetings, a number of the military officers were standing in a group, engaging in light conversation.
One of the American military officers walked up to a general from the Russian Federation. The American military man asked the Russian general, “Tell me, general, did the Soviet Union ever consider invading the United States during the Cold War?”
The Russian general laughed and said, “Oh, no! You people have too many guns over there!”
We don’t own Gitmo, either. We have paid a little over $4000 a year in rent since 1934. The Castro government has never cashed one of our checks. They do not recognize the lease as legal.
The French aren’t known for smooth moves. They are more known by for their hasty retreats.
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