You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Europe
"France Will Never Forget"
2007-07-23
Volunteers form a human chain to honor fallen U.S. troops in World War Two and form the words "France Will Never Forget" as a symbol of the friendship between France and the U.S. in Omaha Beach, near the U.S. Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, western France, June 30, 2007.

Photos at the link. Video here.

JFM, is that you second from the left in the letter "T"?
Posted by:Mike

#14  I'm surprised at how young some of them are.

Had a young friend visit Paris, met a boy - he came to visit, couldn't believe what he's been told is not how it is.

they were in a bar, people were buying him drinks, calling him "Paris." People don't buy other people a drink there.

At the end of the evening, stood up, flung out his arms and yelled, "I LOVE AMERICA!"
Posted by: anonymous2u   2007-07-23 17:18  

#13  Always, but the libs are trying to make it impossible for more to join. It is hard to imagine, but the time is not far off when no one alive will be able to remember when a state was added to the Union.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2007-07-23 15:06  

#12  xbalanke

Just kidding but do you still have place for another star in your flag? :-)
Posted by: JFM   2007-07-23 15:03  

#11  Thanks for the anecdotes, JFM. I'd always read and heard that the locals in the Normandy area maintain true heartfelt gratitude for their liberation.
Posted by: xbalanke   2007-07-23 14:41  

#10  But, but, but ... They hate us!
Posted by: John Kerry   2007-07-23 13:46  

#9  That scraping sound you hear is Charles de Gaulle spinning in his grave.
Posted by: SteveS   2007-07-23 13:09  

#8  The font of Anti-Americanism in Europe is the elites, not the people (sort of like in America). The problem is the elites control policy in Europe.

Well worth repeating.

How will we rid ourselves of such troublesome elites?

I'll quote John F. Kennedy:

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable."

America's elite are closing ranks. Witness, for example, the immigration bill. They are making control of public policy a closed shop and increasingly ignoring the average citizen's input. There is another butcher's bill slowly accruing for this treason. Things are going to get very ugly when the tab finally comes due.
Posted by: Zenster   2007-07-23 12:36  

#7  I lived in Paris for 2 years and can't tell you how many conversations I had with French people about all things political where we came to the mutual conclusion that 'it's not the people, it's their government.' And where, once we got to get to know each other and hang out, etc, we agreed 'hey, you guys aren't so bad.' The sad reality: our default behavior is to distrust, demonize and slander. It makes us feel better about ourselves - it also ensures we slaughter each other from time to time. Sad but true.
Posted by: Geoffro   2007-07-23 10:46  

#6  We appreciate the time and effort it took to make this display. Thank you and merci, citizens of France.
Posted by: Seafarious   2007-07-23 10:12  

#5  The elites (and the Communist Party when it was influential) have brainwashed the French people for decades. It will take decades of deprogramming. But even in 2004 I was surprised how easy it was to find people who confessed to be pro-American. At that time saying it was like telling you were from the KKK, very politically incorrect.
Posted by: JFM   2007-07-23 10:02  

#4  How will we rid ourselves of such troublesome elites?
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2007-07-23 10:01  

#3  #2: The font of Anti-Americanism in Europe is the elites, not the people (sort of like in America). The problem is the elites control policy in Europe.

Bravo NS, well said indeed!
Posted by: Besoeker   2007-07-23 09:05  

#2  The font of Anti-Americanism in Europe is the elites, not the people (sort of like in America). The problem is the elites control policy in Europe.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2007-07-23 08:41  

#1  I didn't knew about this initiative. Also I live in Paris and is not that easy for me to go to Colleville

However:

1) For the 60th anniversary of D-Day there were French citizens who scrapped their own pockets in order to build a monument on Omaha beach.

2) The prefet (ie the state's agent in the region, ie Chirac's representative) tried to have it demolished in september 2004 but citizen's resistance succedeed in thwarting the project.

3) When visiting Coleville's graveyard (BTW, a very beautiful place and AFAIK, American territory) I noticed an old man flowering a grave. Then he spoke in French to be one of his family and his French was too perfect and unnaccented for him to be an American.

4) I saw a public building flying Normandy's flag, the American flag and.. that's all. No trace of the European Union flag and no trace of the French flag.
Posted by: JFM   2007-07-23 08:15  

00:00