D-Day Memorial

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43rdRecceReg
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Re: D-Day Memorial

Post by 43rdRecceReg »

silversurfer1947 wrote:I have just come back from the D Day commemorations. As part of it, we visited a small out of the way military cemetery. As we were going in, there was a line of young school children just coming out. It turned out they they had been to the cemetery to place a dove of peace on every grave, British and German. There is a huge appreciation of the sacrifice made to free them from tyranny, even several generations removed.

Good. But what about this, Richard?- The Carrefour shopping chain produced this commemorative bag for D-Day:
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Notice anything unusual about it? Well, not only is the Union Jack missing from Gold beach, but the British flag has been replaced by the French tricolor on Sword beach >:< !!! !!!
The British made the largest contribution, in terms of troop numbers (73,000), on D-Day... with a tiny contingent of French (less than 200?).
https://www.dday-overlord.com/en/norman ... dy-landing
Is this because of the ancient animus between the British and the French, or Brexit, perhaps? For the nation that waved the white flag after a few weeks, despite having a larger army, and more tanks than the Germans, this is indeed a new and shameless low. While we live in an age where history is busily re-written to conform with PC narratives, this is an example of blatant bias and revisionism!!
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please"- Mark Twain.
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c.rainford73
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Re: D-Day Memorial

Post by c.rainford73 »

That bag should be called "Edition Edited for Revisionists"

That is one sad representation of a collector's edition item! :thumbdown:
Tanks alot.... :wave:
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silversurfer1947
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Re: D-Day Memorial

Post by silversurfer1947 »

As we drove around various parts of the Normady countryside, there was a huge proliferation of flags of Canada, Great Britan and the US, not just along the roads, but in private gardens. The people themselves remember.

At least the Leclerc got all the flags on their banner.
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One fact which tends to get overlooked when air force and navy are taken into account, is that 12 Allied Nations took part. If one looks on it from the French point of view, no French actually took part in D Day. They were involved in J Jour!

The Bayeux War Cemetery and Memorial
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It is the resting place of over 4,100 Commonwealth servicemen, plus over 500 of other nations.
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The memorial is to more than 1,800 servicemen who lost their lives in the Normandy campaign who have no known grave.

There are 18 Commonwealth War Cemeteries in Normandy containing over 22,000 grave. In addition to these,there are many more in churchyards and village cemeteries throughtout the region.

It was a very moving experience. After leaving Bayeux we travelled to a smaller cemetery a wreath was laid on behalf of the British contingent. These cemeteries always have a profound effect on me. There was a previous wreath from 7th battalion Parachute Regiment dedicated to a Short Stirling shot down by flak on June 6. It was on a parachute drop. I found the headstones. There were the 4 aircrew and some 20 others for those of the paratroopers. The saddest part was reading the ages of them - 19,19,20,19 and so it went on.
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Richard
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c.rainford73
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Re: D-Day Memorial

Post by c.rainford73 »

Here's a story about the bag in question....

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/11404 ... ings-video
Tanks alot.... :wave:
Black Knight
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Re: D-Day Memorial

Post by Black Knight »

I was out ther last week, mainly to commemorate the D Day raid on Port en Bessen by 47 Commando Royal Marines (Operation Pluto - fuel line from UK to Normandy to support the liberation) . We ended the week with a parade through the town and I have to say, the crowds were quite a surprise! I can happily say the Port en Bessen still loves and welcomes the Royal Marine Commandos :P !!! :clap: :clap:
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HERMAN BIX
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Re: D-Day Memorial

Post by HERMAN BIX »

I will say after spending 5 weeks touring France that in many cases the basic poor behaviour and blatant rudeness shown by English folk towards the locals in restaurants, motels and shops could go a long way to driving in the wedge.
Ducking over for a weekend of boozing & carrying on like a post match party in small towns is not going to sit well.( Carentan, car club weekend, disgraceful)
Regardless of your language, basic courtesy’s still mean a lot.
Once I identified myself as a Kiwi, not a Brit or an American, the mood instantly became lighter and the attitude changed. That plus we were polite, non demanding and above all- relatively quiet.

We all need to keep in mind today that the generation involved in this conflict were raised with different behaviour expectations, and were not tainted by years of modern mud slinging, social media, and general sense of self-entitlement that so many are today.

I kept in mind it wasn’t the men that fought on their soil that created the resentment, but those largely ignorant and ungrateful that have come since .

The living memories of those that were there are fading fast, we will soon only be left with memorials and film footage.
Let’s do our collective best to live the lives gifted to us by those faces on the documentary footage eh.?
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43rdRecceReg
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Re: D-Day Memorial

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HERMAN BIX wrote:I will say after spending 5 weeks touring France that in many cases the basic poor behaviour and blatant rudeness shown by English folk towards the locals in restaurants, motels and shops could go a long way to driving in the wedge.
Ducking over for a weekend of boozing & carrying on like a post match party in small towns is not going to sit well.( Carentan, car club weekend, disgraceful)
Regardless of your language, basic courtesy’s still mean a lot.
Once I identified myself as a Kiwi, not a Brit or an American, the mood instantly became lighter and the attitude changed. That plus we were polite, non demanding and above all- relatively quiet.

We all need to keep in mind today that the generation involved in this conflict were raised with different behaviour expectations, and were not tainted by years of modern mud slinging, social media, and general sense of self-entitlement that so many are today.

I kept in mind it wasn’t the men that fought on their soil that created the resentment, but those largely ignorant and ungrateful that have come since .

The living memories of those that were there are fading fast, we will soon only be left with memorials and film footage.
Let’s do our collective best to live the lives gifted to us by those faces on the documentary footage eh.?
My Dad's generation had values that would be woefully out of place in this Global Marketplace, where greed is good, and the culture of the self reigns supreme. They were taught to be selfless, and I (as a postwar Boomer) also had it drummed into me: "I want- never gets"! They were taught to be modest about their achievements, never to complain, and to think about others before themselves. What a contrast with the modern world populated by 'snowflakes', and those immersed in 'identity politics'. :| Let's just ensure that all those lives lost were not in vain.

One thing that puzzles me, HB, is how many ethnic French people living in Canada still think of themselves as French, even after 10 generations, just like the Irish often remain Irish in Boston; and yet Indigenous Brits consider themselves to be 'Kiwi'. 'Aussie', or 'Canadian', within- in many instances, the space of a generation or two. :think: Very odd. :think:
I tend to think of Australians as Aboriginals, and New Zealanders as Maoris. The others are mostly (White) European settlers. I note that in the US, there's a fashion amongst so-called 'A-listers' to claim some 'First Nation' ancestry these days (as if to justify their presence in the Americas), even when there's no actual evidence for it. Thirty years ago (according to the US census) a significant number of people were clamouring to claim British (English, Welsh, Scottish- and Irish, to some extent) ancestry. These days, though, many of the same folk now describe themselves as 'American'. What could have happened to change their minds?
:) It's just a bit of whimsy, and an observation.
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please"- Mark Twain.
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FredtheFrench
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Re: D-Day Memorial

Post by FredtheFrench »

In my first message, I was talking about the fact that the French were not happy for the Ver sur Mer memorial.
On the other hand, it is clear that with respect to D Day, the French and more particularly the Normands, are happy to commemorate this historic event.
As SilverSurfer1947 explained, shops, towns and villages are all decked out in small flags of allied colors and there is still a lot of people at these commemorations.
In the TV news and in the newspapers, there are many articles on the French thanking the Americans, the British and the Canadians.
For the history of the Carrefour bag, I have a hard time believing (unfortunately) that it is a mistake. If there is one, she is terribly awkward.
But even so, you must know that there is no anti-British resentment. It is not because Carrefour has brought out this bag, without the English troops, that the French population has something against you, or even that they have forgotten the sacrifices of your fathers and grandfathers? This is not true and you should not mix everything.
Never, I say never, Normandy and the French will forget this sacrifice (even if it is true that there are always people who do not care). It is for this reason that I urge my 8 year old son to come with me, just to explain to him what happened and why so many men lost their lives during this war.
I do not try to justify anything, but do not think that the French have forgotten the sacrifice of all these young men. Both British, Canadian and American.
The problem is that in the minds of people, the D day= the Americans.
Know that for some years now that the authorities in Normandy have realized and they want to change this way of thinking and work to precisely put forward the sacrifice of the British and Canadians. Unfortunately, it will still take a long time.
That 's the reason why my DD sherman was made in the British colors, because the collective still thinks of the DD that sank in Omaha, but almost never to those who have almost all arrived on the British beaches.
Unfortunately, in the documentary that was done with my model, the "off voice" says that it 's about a Sherman DD having landed on Omaha, whereas I had made it clear that it was a tank having landed at Sword !!!
These are the kinds of small mistakes that deceive people.

FredtheFrench, a man who like to speak with English people and recently during the 24 hours of Le Mans!!! :{

The entire message has been writing with google translate, French to English, because too hard for me to try writing directly in English. Excuse me for that...
Sorry for my spelling mistakes, I try to do better every day...
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Ad Lav
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Re: D-Day Memorial

Post by Ad Lav »

Fred, no apology needed. Your English is better than most here ;)

Hopefully a fitting memorial in the uk will be built soon.
spee34
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Re: D-Day Memorial

Post by spee34 »

hmmm im happy to born 1987 and not 1920 or so... it must be horror to service in this war :|
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