D-Day Memorial

[c.rainford73]

I was surprised to read this article, having expected one was already constructed, but it appears a long overdue memorial is being constructed.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/0 ... andy-gets/

Glad these heroes are getting a special place

[Son of a gun-ner]

Yes, that's truly disgraceful.
I'm saddened that a lot of wives and relatives of those that gave up their lives so that locals could protest and delay such an overdue memorial, aren't still around to witness this recognition for their loved ones sacrifice.

[43rdRecceReg]

Downright shocking that Britain, which provided the largest contingent of troops on D-Day beaches, is the only nation without a permanent memorial. I wonder, is this because of an unappreciative French nation, or an indifferent British government- the one that ousted Churchill's lot at the end of the War? Maybe both ...
It's only in recent years the Bomber command has been awarded a memorial, despite the fact that losses of 55,573 killed (10,000 Canadian) were the highest of any WW2 fighting force- with the sole exception of German submariners.

[HERMAN BIX]

Ive been there & Trod the blood soaked earth that has gifted me and mine the lives we take for granted today.
I can say:

If is was not for the war and all its sacrifice.................there is no bloody other reason to go there.
The locals cash in on the fact that their area has been fought over for a thousand years.
The beach water is cold
the ambiance is resentful
the coastal area is under resourced & run down
And generally ,the weather is shit.

Yet they live under the historical blanket granted of those sons from foreign shores who gave their lives to give them the ungrateful right to protest a belated honor to those that to them mean nothing ?

How Dare They

[c.rainford73]

Sadly these young men who made the ultimate sacrifice and now thier much older counterparts who are still with us in dwindling numbers have had two hard fought battles to claim a little piece of this ground in a foriegn land.

[Black Knight]

Ive been there & Trod the blood soaked earth that has gifted me and mine the lives we take for granted today.
I can say:

If is was not for the war and all its sacrifice.................there is no bloody other reason to go there.
The locals cash in on the fact that their area has been fought over for a thousand years.
The beach water is cold
the ambiance is resentful
the coastal area is under resourced & run down
And generally ,the weather is shit.

Yet they live under the historical blanket granted of those sons from foreign shores who gave their lives to give them the ungrateful right to protest a belated honor to those that to them mean nothing ?

How Dare They

[FredtheFrench]

End of press article:

Britain is the only nation involved in the allied invasion of France without a dedicated national memorial in Normandy.



No comment. I did not know. I am ashamed...



I am a person who like to give, to help, but in the life of all days, I can say than people see always for them. Now, people say " to me, to me, to me........ "It is sad, but it is the real life...

I am disgusted by my job, because people are never happy... It is a problem, with a lot of French people. For this reason, I like to speak (try to speak), with English people during 24 hours of Le Mans, because English people have a good spirit.

[jarndice]

I don't dispute the heartfelt resentment being aired on this Forum and further afield regarding the perceived antipathy of the citizens living along the Normandy coast toward those visitors constantly reminding them of the debt they owe to the many brave American, Canadian and British service personnel who fought their way onto the beaches and onward to Berlin,
BUT
If America, Canada or the United Kingdom had suffered five years of viscous occupation and then the French armed forces had come to rid your Country of that occupation and from then onwards for seventy five years and counting French visitors reminded you of YOUR obligation to the French how long would your goodwill last?
I have lived in mainland Europe as part of my Military service and enjoyed serving alongside Belgium, Dutch and German soldiers and I have visited and worked in these countries,
All of them liberated by allied military forces and there is no noticeable feelings of resentment toward those countries soldiers who until the end of the cold war acted as though they owned the place the only exception being after a drunken binge by the British after a sporting competition which the British team yet again lost.
The Norman French had to bare the initial assault and with it the dubious pleasure of all firsts that of being the seat of remembrance,
That is not a burden I would care to carry,
I have seen Dutch school children laying flowers on the graves of British soldiers in their village graveyard., No one asks them to do it,
It is because as one teacher told me the children think of the fallen soldiers as family,
Perhaps if the visitors to Normandy embraced those put upon people with a "There but for the Grace of God go I" attitude instead of an expectation of unpaid debt the attitude of the inhabitants might be quite different.

[43rdRecceReg]

I don't dispute the heartfelt resentment being aired on this Forum and further afield regarding the perceived antipathy of the citizens living along the Normandy coast toward those visitors constantly reminding them of the debt they owe to the many brave American, Canadian and British service personnel who fought their way onto the beaches and onward to Berlin,
BUT
If America, Canada or the United Kingdom had suffered five years of viscous occupation and then the French armed forces had come to rid your Country of that occupation and from then onwards for seventy five years and counting French visitors reminded you of YOUR obligation to the French how long would your goodwill last?
I have lived in mainland Europe as part of my Military service and enjoyed serving alongside Belgium, Dutch and German soldiers and I have visited and worked in these countries,
All of them liberated by allied military forces and there is no noticeable feelings of resentment toward those countries soldiers who until the end of the cold war acted as though they owned the place the only exception being after a drunken binge by the British after a sporting competition which the British team yet again lost.
The Norman French had to bare the initial assault and with it the dubious pleasure of all firsts that of being the seat of remembrance,
That is not a burden I would care to carry,
I have seen Dutch school children laying flowers on the graves of British soldiers in their village graveyard., No one asks them to do it,
It is because as one teacher told me the children think of the fallen soldiers as family,
Perhaps if the visitors to Normandy embraced those put upon people with a "There but for the Grace of God go I" attitude instead of an expectation of unpaid debt the attitude of the inhabitants might be quite different.

But, Shaun, it wasn't just the Second World War that engendered this perceived indifference the French have to the sacrifices made on their behalf, by other nations- and especially by the British (think: De Gaulle and "Non!!"). What about the Great War, where almost 800,000 young Brits died to liberate the French, including two of my Grandfather's brothers? Where is the gratitude for that? While I was genuinely moved by Fred's words, I regret to say, sadly, that most of the French people I have met over the years don't share his views.

[silversurfer1947]

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.