Posted on 01/29/2005 5:51:35 PM PST by quidnunc
The wind moaned gently in the nearby forest of the Vosges mountain. A thick blanket of snow lay on the ground and on the thousands of white crosses that marked the graves of US servicemen who had fallen in France during the Second World War.
With my wife and her aunt Nancy from Pittsburgh, we had come to the American military cemetery at Epinal in eastern France, where 5,200 US soldiers are buried. We were paying tribute to one of those brave men, Private Bill Anderson from Pennsylvania, Nancy's brother, who went through D-Day and then died at the age of just 19 in November 1944 while on a dangerous reconnaissance mission.
As we stood by the headstone, Nancy read out a heart-rending letter to Bill that she had written before leaving America. Full of poignant memories of their young life together, the letter captured the spirit of heroic optimism that had led Bill to give his life for the cause of freedom in Europe. Though I was born almost 20 years after Bill died, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the sacrifice he had made, a feeling reinforced as I lifted my eyes from his grave towards the arch that overlooks the cemetery. On it were carved words of remembrance for those "citizens of every calling bred in the principles of American democracy".
To European intellectuals, the term "American democracy" is probably an oxymoron. Though such sophisticated cynicism is contradicted by events in Iraq, where — just like in France 60 years ago — US soldiers have been sacrificing their lives to liberate a people from tyranny, anti-Americanism is now written into the European psyche, the last acceptable prejudice in a culture that makes a fetish of racial equality. Indeed, as I walked through the cemetery, my sense of gratitude at Bill's service was accompanied by deep, almost visceral, anger at my fellow Europeans for their constant sneering at America and their gloating over the body count in Iraq, despite all that the USA has done to free Europe in the past from totalitarian dictatorships, whether they be Nazi or communist.
-snip-
Good post. You know, it puts me in mind of the shock I felt in the weeks after 9-11 when it dawned on me that Europeans did not look at the world in the same light as Americans do. And it was a further sad realization that the stupidity of antiJudaism was rampant in both Eastern and Western Europe. Americans are truly almost solitary, along with a few isolated but courageous allies in our basic beliefs about liberty and freedom of religion.
Good article...thanks for posting it.
Few things would be as gratifying, as flipping the bird at our "allies" when the next horde of barbarians gang-rapes them.
All our war dead buried in foreign lands should be disinterred and brought home.
Thank you for posting this.
I do have a feeling that these Euroepan anti-American people would respond with "Be my guest. We don't want these Yanks in our lands either!"
Here's the rub:
"What sickens me is that we in Europe are fed a constant diet of anti-American propaganda because of the USA's supposed aggression, greed, imperialism or insularity. Yet, at the very same time, we are urged, through the remorseless process of European integration, to embrace Germany, the country responsible for most of the ills of Europe for the past 140 years. Perhaps even worse is the way the experience of Nazism has been used to promote the ideology of multi-culturalism.
Any objection to mass immigration or the destruction of traditional Judaeo-Christian moral values is deemed as racist, akin to support for fascism. As a result, in the name of multi-cultural tolerance, we have allowed the creation of the brutal, anti-democratic monster of Islamism in our midst.
It is a bizarre paradox that the hysteria over Nazism has encouraged Europe to be swamped by Islam, in which anti-Semitism appears to be an integral part of the creed – tellingly, the Muslim Council of Britain refused to take part in the Holocaust commemorations. Instead of falling under the sway of Islam and European federalism, it would be better if Europe followed the values of America, a country that has always understood the meaning of the word "freedom".
That's the last bit of the article. I've never seen it all put together so well.
We've taken the Islamofacist viper into our midst. How much blood will be shed before it is defanged, or destroyed?
Would it be in poor taste for me to point out that this is an article in a British newspaper written by a Brit?
I, for one, freely salute the sacrifices made by American soldiers in WWII. Is it too much to ask for some recognition of the sacrifices made by British soldiers in GWII from the likes of you?
My sympathies go out to the declining numbers of good Europeans that still 'get it'
I ran into a European on another web site not too long ago and we were talking about Iraq. During the conversation, this person criticized the Americans for trying to turn Iraq into a democracy and in the next breath criticized the Americans for not being quick enough to enter World War II.
Talk about hypocracy!
They are as bad as our intellectuals and media.
Most French remember our sacrifices. There are "moments of silence" throughout Europe on special days. It is most moving. MOST haven't forgotten and MOST don't sneer.
Well, you did leave it a bit late.
"Is it too much to ask for some recognition of the sacrifices made by British soldiers in GWII from the likes of you?"
Good point! All this division between Western countries only fuels the terrorists. This bickering back and forth only divides us further.
Please ignore my #13 in the light of your last comment. My blood was up!
Well I do recall Americans joining the fight before we were fully involved. That should send a strong message.
Okay....:-}
Your solicitude is appreciated.
my goodness......for those of us who study military history or are just good stewards, we think the Brits were the bravest of the brave, standing up to Hitler during the fire bombings and the Queen Mother God bless her soul visiting with the people during the raids.....We rank Churchill right up there with the best of the best......."never, never, never, never, never, give up"........
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