Obama gets a D-Day celebration invite for one WWII vet …
posted at 3:34 pm on June 3, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
When Barack Obama joins Nicolas Sarkozy for the 65th anniversary celebration of the invasion of Normandy that liberated France, he will be joined by a veteran of the war that the French overlooked. No, not Elizabeth Windsor, who served the war effort as a mechanic before becoming Queen Elizabeth II, and who remains snubbed by both Obama and Sarkozy. Instead, Obama will make it a family affair:
President Obama’s great uncle Charlie Payne, who helped liberate a German concentration camp in 1945, will travel to Normandy to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion this Saturday, a White House official tells ABC News.
Payne, the younger brother of the president’s late grandmother Madelyn Dunham, served as a private first class in the Army’s 89th Infantry Division.
I think it’s admirable of Obama to bring along his uncle. At his age, he may not get a chance to participate in another high-profile celebration of D-Day and the liberation of France. Payne is one of the hundreds of thousands of heroes who helped end a despicable tyranny and keep the West safe for freedom and liberty. I hope that Payne will be joined by as many of his comrades as possible, in order to give us one more opportunity to honor their courage, sacrifice, and victory while they’re with us to enjoy it.
Of course, the same holds true for Queen Elizabeth, who had not been invited to the remembrance. Neither Obama nor Sarkozy were alive on D-Day. One would think that any major celebration would include the one head of state in the West that actually served in the war, out of simple respect for her service. Apparently, that thought never occurred to the French, or to the Obama administration either, at least not at first.
After the diplomatic row hit the newspapers, the French — reluctantly — invited the royal family to attend. Elizabeth initially refused, but Charles will attend in her stead:
Clarence House received an official invitation yesterday from the French Ambassador.
It was feared the furious Queen would still not attend. But Charles told her it was important at least one of the family made the trip.
A spokesman said: “The Prince of Wales will attend D-Day commemorations in Normandy on the invitation of President Sarkozy.”
The Mirror reports that Obama finally demanded that the Queen be invited or at least represented, and if so, good for him. Maybe the White House Protocol Office should have considered that from the beginning, but perhaps they were busy buying iPods and DVD retrospectives of American cinema for heads of state.
Update: Some people in the comments are confused about the picture. It is young Elizabeth Windsor serving her country during World War II by performing vehicle maintenance.
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Good for bringing his uncle!
blatantblue on June 3, 2009 at 3:37 PM
I’m glad Obama’s taking his uncle. I’m happy for the Uncle!
I think it’s rude, tacky, and unthinkable that Queen Elizabeth wasn’t invited.
If I were the Queen, I would refuse any invitation to attend at this point. Furthermore, I would not permit Charles to attend.
Oink on June 3, 2009 at 3:38 PM
What a bunch of arrogant fools. Anyone who reads “Beyond Band of Brothers”, by Dick Winters will understand the true difference between that generation and ANY other before or after it. How I wish I could have lived with, and served with, those people. They were special. They were, and are, great.
HomeoftheBrave on June 3, 2009 at 3:38 PM
Why would the French invite anyone at all? According to them, they liberated themselves.
Rightwingguy on June 3, 2009 at 3:41 PM
The front page headline/caption made no sense to me.
DaveS on June 3, 2009 at 3:41 PM
I think the pic is Queen Lizzy
blatantblue on June 3, 2009 at 3:42 PM
The French are frogs, so what do you expect? But Obama needs to have someone in the protocol office to flag this kind of stuff.
What a neat moment to have a surviving leader at what will probably be the last major anniversary of D-Day when the Queen and D-Day soldiers are still around. And for crying out loud, the woman drove trucks for the British war effort. She’s 100 times the man than Obama is.
BuckeyeSam on June 3, 2009 at 3:43 PM
It is, but I’m still not sure what the headline means. “Obama get an invite for one WWII vet… and finally this one.” Huh?
DaveS on June 3, 2009 at 3:43 PM
My Mother is 85 years old. She served in the Navy during WWII. So did my Father, may he rest in peace. I’m glad that Bubblehead finally
caved in to public pressurerealized the error and insisted on inviting the Queen.I hope this is a change in the way Bubblehead treats our veterans in the future.
I hope, but I’m not holding my breath.
Timothy S. Carlson on June 3, 2009 at 3:46 PM
You don’t mean this great uncle Charlie Payne??
Who said:
“I am puzzled by intelligent people who stand by and allow their country to be taken over and run by extreme radical types.”
Quote from Charles T. Payne – Obama’s Great Uncle
Obama’s Uncle: He’s Using Buchenwald for Political Purpose
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_buchenwald/2009/05/28/219295.html
http://www.redstate.com/izoneguy/2009/05/29/i-am-puzzled-by-intelligent-people-who-stand-by-and-allow-their-country-to-be-taken-over-and-run-by-extreme-radical-types/
izoneguy on June 3, 2009 at 3:46 PM
Queen Elizabeth would have been the first one on my mind to invite – but it seems the Brits are no longer considered our closest allies by our administration. Shame.
Speaking of D-Day, I heard that the memorial in Bedford, Virginia is struggling financially. It’s a little out of the way, but it’s beautiful out there.
Anna on June 3, 2009 at 3:46 PM
Oh… “Obama secures an invitation for his WWII veteran uncle; French finally invite Queen Elizabeth II to attend as well.” That makes more sense.
DaveS on June 3, 2009 at 3:46 PM
Uncle Charles Payne will enjoy the honor, and company with his presidential nephew.
This entire episode of insulting Queen Elizabeth during the Normandy D-Day commemoration is really very bad form on the scandalous Brown’s part, Obama’s part, and Sarkozy’s part as host.
The Queen should attend and prove her majesty in ceremony. There will be many there who want the British Queen to attend them as we all honor our Normandy veterans.
maverick muse on June 3, 2009 at 3:47 PM
The Queen Elizabeth snub is beyond the pale.
But the bringing the uncle thing is a very nice thing.
myrenovations on June 3, 2009 at 3:47 PM
So who set this whole shingding up? The French or US? If its the French, then they’re to blame for pissing off the queen. If it was US, then its Barry O’s fault. I wouldn’t put it past him given his dislike of the British, but I don’t think he’d let himself get burned again in front of the Queen.
Iblis on June 3, 2009 at 3:48 PM
And here i thought Obama meant someone closer to his heart, Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, the WWII-era Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
…I kid, i kid! Ogabe would never be associated with anti-semitic nazi-sympathizing jew haters
…he’d just let one baptize his daughters.
battleoflepanto1571 on June 3, 2009 at 3:49 PM
I thought that Uhbamuh had previously announced that his Uncle had helped to liberate Auschwitz? At a time when American forces were on the other side of Germany.
Maybe Uhbamuh should wait for the Poles to invite him to something?
OhEssYouCowboys on June 3, 2009 at 3:50 PM
So wait, our President is a submariner now?
Rightwingguy on June 3, 2009 at 3:50 PM
Ogabe sent the queen a Betamax copy of “The Longest Day.”
Bishop on June 3, 2009 at 3:51 PM
French President Sorkozy invites the weakling, B. Obama, to hold his hat during D-Day commemoration activities in Normandy, France.
President Weakling, so named by Sarkozy, said he was thrilled to be a part of history, and that President Sarkozy could be confident his beret would be safe during the ceremony. He further stated “The world should use this event, my holding of the hat, as an example of the proper way to resolve conflict among nations. When you’ve been exposed to the world as a weakling, or as they say in Britain, a pantywaist, all one should do is offer to be subserviant, as I have here today. Thanks everybody!”
BobMbx on June 3, 2009 at 3:51 PM
Where’s the invitation for George H. W. Bush?
Oh, I forgot. Bushes are bad. Bushes are bad. Bushes are bad. Rinse and repeat.
Steve Z on June 3, 2009 at 3:51 PM
I hope this settles it for the Brits that Obama is not a friend to them…
That said life is too short for allies to allow this kind of thing to come between us. It is unthinkable that Sarkozy would forget the good Queen, but then again he is not even really French so…
I hope the uncle gets to ride on Air Force One! What a treat for an honorable veteran! And to be a relative of the President, too! Good family for the most part. Too bad Barack wasn’t raised by the uncle.
petunia on June 3, 2009 at 3:51 PM
This is France’s event. Criticize Sarkozy if you want. Obama inviting his uncle to come along makes perfect sense. It is not the White House’s role to invite other heads of state to a French event. At best, this belongs in the Obamateurism of the Day section, which is where you can satisfy your need for random criticisms of anything associated with the other side.
tneloms on June 3, 2009 at 3:51 PM
Go back to reeducation camp comrade.
Rightwingguy on June 3, 2009 at 3:52 PM
izoneguy on June 3, 2009 at 3:46 PM
That’s right. We followed it.
Evidently the two are on good terms following Obama’s faux pas accounts; now Obama extends Charlie invitations to state events to make up for “lost” time.
maverick muse on June 3, 2009 at 3:52 PM
Amen. And if you don’t at least well up when the HBO Series runs the interview of Winters at the end of the last episode, you’re not an American. There’s an interview with Babe Heffron that’s really good too.
I’ll take Winters, Carwood Lipton, Shifty Powers, Bull Randleman, Joe Toy, Bill Guanere, and all the rest. The Left doesn’t even deserve to praise these guys. Honestly,
if Speirs were alive, I’d like to give him two weeks to get to the root of ACORN. He’d fix their wagon.
BuckeyeSam on June 3, 2009 at 3:53 PM
Good for Uncle Charles, and a huge Thank You for his service.
As it’s on French soil, and one would presume the invites are done by the French, I’d give Dear Leader a pass on this. Besides, there’s so much else to heap on him, it won’t be missed.
Now if only Uncle Charles would say to Dear Leader: “Son, what the hell are you doing to the country I fought for.”
rbj on June 3, 2009 at 3:53 PM
Note to all Germans. When Ogabe apologizes for the bombing of Dresden. I’m NOT! FU!
Caper29 on June 3, 2009 at 3:54 PM
What is the French term for “uh”? I want to count the number of times that their press has to translate it.
OhEssYouCowboys on June 3, 2009 at 3:55 PM
Nothing but an afterthought after crazy cracker Uncle Charlie was quoted recently as saying that Obama is visiting Buchenwald simply as a matter of showmanship.
BuckeyeSam on June 3, 2009 at 3:55 PM
He’s sub something. Par? Human?
Daggett on June 3, 2009 at 3:56 PM
Amen to that!!
tru2tx on June 3, 2009 at 3:56 PM
Is his uncle allowed to bring any of his soviet comrades that he liberated Auschwitz with?
O wait I got confused because Obama tried to use his uncle’s war record to try to score some “Look! I come from an All-American family too” cred and F’d up. I hope he does not try to use his uncle for such purposes again…O wait…
Joe Caps on June 3, 2009 at 3:56 PM
He needs a translator? I thought he could speak Francian.
Daggett on June 3, 2009 at 3:57 PM
I will, in your place.
unclesmrgol on June 3, 2009 at 3:58 PM
For D-Day, BeachBama will scale the cliffs of the Normandy beaches wearing only a Speedo bikini, while the women swoon, Chris Matthews’ leg tingles, and the Greatest Generation heaves a sigh. At his arrival at the top, BeachBama will proudly state that John McCain could not do the same.
Steve Z on June 3, 2009 at 3:58 PM
The picture is of then-Princess Elizabeth of Windsor.
Practically no one now has a true feel for the sacrifices of “The Greatest Generation”. I am one of the youngest members of my dad’s side of the family, born in 1955. At one simultaneous time, Dad’s mom had one son and SIX grandsons in WWII war zones. And the gov’t drafted another son (Dad) twice, but his employer pulled him back literally from the induction office both times.
A VFW post back home is named after a deceased veteran. Another aunt of mine casually mentioned once that she had dated that person, and he had been killed as a fighter pilot counterattacking the Japanese at Pearl Harbor.
The valor and memory of that generation MUST be preserved.
SteelGuy on June 3, 2009 at 3:59 PM
Ogabe is going to apologize for the American troops who landed at Omaha and managed to tear-up such a scenic waterfront.
Bishop on June 3, 2009 at 3:59 PM
Obama’s Great Uncle helped liberate Ohrdruf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohrdruf_forced_labor_camp
Obama did not know Uncle Charlie’s full story. As usual Obama spouted off before he knew the facts.
Of course Obama is scrambling to save face.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2008/05/27/recollection-of-obama-familys-service-missing-key-details/
izoneguy on June 3, 2009 at 3:59 PM
Charlie Payne, thank you for your service.
portlandon on June 3, 2009 at 4:03 PM
I can imagine the speech now…
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen…”
[teleprompter breaks]
“Uh… I am honored to be here in… Uh… Norman Rockwell.. to uh.. honor… those people who died at.. Uh.. the French Revolution.. uh… many of whom I see here today…”
Daggett on June 3, 2009 at 4:03 PM
By the great-uncle, too bad is right.
But the subsequent generation went Marxist, Obama’s grandmother & husband with communist sympathies, and of course Obama’s mother taking everything to the extreme. They moved away from where their family traditions existed to the West Coast and then Hawaii where Marxism was “cool”.
Following the tragedies of WWII when the return home was an ecstatic trauma for so many veterans, it was a shame that being part of the sophisticated elitist progressive communist movement meant more to Obama’s immediate family than appreciating what good remains to be performed within our Constitutional culture.
Authoritarianism is a poor excuse for righting the wrongs of humanity blessed with Liberty.
maverick muse on June 3, 2009 at 4:03 PM
That was my point. The man is an imbecile of history. Even his own. To say that any American, let alone his own Uncle, was anywhere near Auschwitz, is an avalanche of stupidity.
OhEssYouCowboys on June 3, 2009 at 4:03 PM
The French usually write it as “Euh”, prounounced like the “oo” in “book”. They’ll have a book full of “Euh”s.
Steve Z on June 3, 2009 at 4:04 PM
Note to all Germans. When Ogabe apologizes for the bombing of Dresden. I’m NOT! FU!
Caper29 on June 3, 2009 at 3:54 PM
I will, in your place.
Thanks, but no thanks.
Vera71 on June 3, 2009 at 4:04 PM
“Obamaman Can”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhhkF3dqXR0&feature=player_embedded
txag92 on June 3, 2009 at 4:04 PM
LOL, love it.
OhEssYouCowboys on June 3, 2009 at 4:04 PM
SteelGuy on June 3, 2009 at 3:59 PM
+1
maverick muse on June 3, 2009 at 4:05 PM
Heh. I wonder what kind of “Environmental” damage was done to the beaches, from those trucks, tanks & ships. There was more than oil spilled on that beach President Apologies.
portlandon on June 3, 2009 at 4:05 PM
He would have performed a greater service to his country by convincing his sister to become a nun.
Steve Z on June 3, 2009 at 4:06 PM
Steve Z on June 3, 2009 at 4:04 PM
Homer Simpson pronounces “deux” with his American accent.
maverick muse on June 3, 2009 at 4:08 PM
Fat chance. She was the village Bicycle.
portlandon on June 3, 2009 at 4:08 PM
+100
Caper29 on June 3, 2009 at 4:09 PM
The generation that elected ChimpyO will come to be known as the greatest degenerates.
csdeven on June 3, 2009 at 4:09 PM
[Post teleprompter break]:
Uh, while American forces, uh, along with Napolean, attacked, uh, the Kaiser’s forces, at uh, the beaches of, uh, the Riviera, which beaches, uh, Michelle and, uh, I plan to sun on, by the way … uh …
OhEssYouCowboys on June 3, 2009 at 4:10 PM
The French government demanded and received compensation for the damage done during the pre-invasion bombing campaign and Normandy landing. (See Eisenhower at War by David Eisenhower)
Limerick on June 3, 2009 at 4:11 PM
The stupidity of not inviting Elizabeth II just astounds me. The Royal Family in Britain remained in Britain all during the war. Anyone who knows the facts about the invasion know that there were five beach invasions on D-Day (Operation Overlord)…..Americans were only at Omaha and Utah beaches.
If Obama does apologize for the bombing of Dresden, I would expect that his next stop will be a stop at Jamestown to apologize for the founding of Jamestown in 1607.
SC.Charlie on June 3, 2009 at 4:11 PM
The media, by dropping the “great”- from uncle has just revised Obama’s improved image, one step/generation closer to something legitimate: his great-uncle’s service to our nation during WWII.
How many of you have personal relationships with your great-uncles?
Don’t blame Payne for his niece’s upbringing. Her parents moved her away from “home” in order to make her into the piece she became. Payne’s brother-in-law Dunham was the jerk who used Obama to get into black houses of ill repute and pawn Obama off with the local literate Black communist poet from Chicago hiding/hanging out in Hawaii in order to score points.
maverick muse on June 3, 2009 at 4:16 PM
Acknowledged.
That doesn’t mean Obama can’t apologize for it.
portlandon on June 3, 2009 at 4:16 PM
I think he and his wife are a sub species.
UltimateBob on June 3, 2009 at 4:19 PM
I sincerely hope that Payne gives Obama an earful. However, he has already made my week with his statement about Obama.
SC.Charlie on June 3, 2009 at 4:26 PM
Gawd, the French and the 20th Century World Wars!
They demanded recompense from the Germans after WWI, victors dictating the conditions of peace. Because of the French demands for money, the Weimar Republic didn’t have a chance, and Hitler did.
The French screwed up their defense vs. Nazi Germany specifically so they wouldn’t have to fight them, being more socialist already than not. Leaving their border with Belgian completely unattended and Nazi invading already, there’s no excuse for the French decisions.
I didn’t realize that France sponged off America following the war. Considering that they spared their populace the rigors of military involvement, that makes Eisenhower look weak after the fact, giving in for another opportunity to feel good at tax payers’ expense. Loans are one thing; demands for gifts another.
I knew we funded the reconstruction of Germany and Japan in order to prove our good will for future alliances.
Did you know that Charles de Gaulle screwed America out of our gold, demanding gold in payment for all the dollars in France. That forced the US off the gold standard, France setting the course leading to our current economic demise.
maverick muse on June 3, 2009 at 4:28 PM
csdeven on June 3, 2009 at 4:09 PM
Please don’t reference that name any more.
maverick muse on June 3, 2009 at 4:31 PM
I’m sure the Queen would be satisfied if Barry just sent her a CD of his speech at Normandy.
Star20 on June 3, 2009 at 4:35 PM
Instead of Prince Charles, I wish QEII would’ve sent Prince Harry with a pint or two under his belt. By virtue of his combat service, Prince H. has got more in common with the event than 0bama anyway.
Lou Budvis on June 3, 2009 at 4:36 PM
I wouldn’t hold my breath either, Obambi like Clintoon is a staunch pacifist as well as an American apologist that will never truly know of the sacrifices and importance of our military and those that serve in it, his ego is such that the only thing that’s important to him is his popularity ratings.
My father served our nation for more than 20 years and was part of the greatest generation too; he served in WWII, Korea, and was in Cambodia in 1965 just prior to retiring. Unfortunately he just passed away May 13th…may his soul rest in eternal peace with the Lord our God for he has more than proven he deserves it after the sacrifices he has made, something Obambi will never know the meaning of, ever!
Liberty or Death on June 3, 2009 at 4:49 PM
RUN UNCLE RUN!! The OBAMA BUS is gonna get ya!
CynicalOptimist on June 3, 2009 at 4:50 PM
I’m forced to believe that the Zero administration and the Zero plus one administration are both terminally stupid. The dumb asses in Washington think world history began in 1986 and Sarkozy is still thinking with his crotch.
Mr. Grump on June 3, 2009 at 4:53 PM
The Mirror is not exactly the most honest paper out there. This was to be a Franco-American event because of the location. The other thing which the Mirror fails to point out is that it would be up to Brown to decide who should go and it is his office that dropped the ball rather than the French.
It’s BS like this that forces someone like me to defend the French. I have attended a number of D-Day celebrations and the French have always been excellent hosts. Furthermore… one of the most moving tributes I have ever seen takes place daily in France. There are no crowds except perhaps in November or when assorted tour groups come through but every day a French guy walks or rides a bike to the British WWI war memorial at Ypres 8pm EVERY nioght and plays Last Post for the 50,000 dead Brits memorialized there. I have seen this done in miserable weather and apparently someone always shows up to do this. That is respect.
lexhamfox on June 3, 2009 at 4:53 PM
Obama needs someone that does not reek of anti-military progressiveness to stand by him for this event. Who better than an unsuspecting family member, who can be easily pushed under the wheels?
I’m surprised he didn’t take Sharpton or one of his other bigoted friends along to lecture a majority of the vets on how they need to feel guilty for having been young, white men as bad as the Axis they faced, or some other rewrite of history.
Hening on June 3, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Last week, I saw a show [sorry, don't remember the name, or the channel - but I think it was on PBS], about all of the American, World War 2, cemeteries in France, Belgium and Luxembourg.
It was very moving. It showed a teacher, in Belgium, who took his class [I'd say they were around 12 years old] to one of the American cemeteries. He told them about the sacrifices and made sure that they knew how young most of the dead were. And that they died to liberate Belgium. The French, too, were very appreciative.
Of course, this probably represented the people who were local to the cemeteries, and, therefore, had some kind of personal or familial knowledge about the liberations of their towns, by Americans.
At any rate, I came away thinking that those people, and those children, have more appreciation for what happened, than most Americans … including a President, who thought that his Great Uncle had liberated Auschwitz.
OhEssYouCowboys on June 3, 2009 at 5:03 PM
Obama should have been on top of this from the start and demanded that Sarkozy invite Queen Elizabeth.
Sigh!
I guess he was too preoccupied with planning his Muslim World Tour.
/sarc
sarahpalinfan99 on June 3, 2009 at 5:07 PM
I anxiously await the speech by Prince Charles in which he reveals that the threat of
global warmingclimate change is more serious to humanity than the National Socialist German Workers’ Party was in the 1930s and 1940s.cyclown on June 3, 2009 at 5:29 PM
They don’t want to be upstaged by the competition.
GarandFan on June 3, 2009 at 5:29 PM
I haven’t read all the comments, so if this was brought up in a previous comment, my apologies for the repetition.
Earlier this week, I had Fox news on the tv. On the ticker, it had a blip about this Great Uncle of Obama’s. According to the Uncle, Obama told of his Great Uncles experiences during the war, during the campaign. The Great Uncle, said….he’s never spoken with Obama about his time in the war.
So Obama bring Great Uncle over, for this celebration is nice on the surface, and the uncle, in my opinion should be there. However…..I can’t help but think now, this is all another political maneuver, to keep Great Uncle quiet in the future.
capejasmine on June 3, 2009 at 5:34 PM
sarahpalinfan99 on June 3, 2009 at 5:07 PM
Absolutely agree!!!!!!!!!!!!
But then he probably has a 21 year old in charge of his protocol office.
Bambi on June 3, 2009 at 5:38 PM
Obama is a tool but even I don’t blame him for the French forgetting the Queen.
Speedwagon82 on June 3, 2009 at 5:39 PM
I’m especially unapologetic as it was the Brits who bombed Dresden. But I won’t be at all surpriesd if The One doesn’t feel limited to apologizing for the actions of any one nation.
Incidentally, tomorrow is the 67th anniversary of the Battle of Midway. Does Obama have any plans to apologize to Japan for the sinking of their aircraft carriers?
Blacklake on June 3, 2009 at 5:40 PM
Whoops…. Correction Time: Wipers is actually in Belgium not France!!
lexhamfox on June 3, 2009 at 5:45 PM
There are precious few WW11 vets alive and if they want to be there for the D-Day celebration, if they are in wheel-chairs, or on o2 to be there, they have the RIGHT to be there! Those American’s who gave their lives to ‘free’ those under the hilter 1000 year rule should forever in our thanks and prayers for what they did. God bless our Republic.
L
letget on June 3, 2009 at 5:50 PM
Thank you Mr. Payne for your service. Enjoy the festivities and thank you for helping to represent the U.S. at the solemn occasion of Normandy. My great uncle lost his leg parachuting in so I am glad a U.S. vet will be there.
___
Screw you Sarkozy for leaving the Queen out of the services; hahahaha you got stuck with Cha-Les – hahahaha
Branch Rickey on June 3, 2009 at 5:51 PM
Like the French could stop the Queen if she wanted to come.
How many Frenchmen does it take to successfully defend Paris from being conquered by an invading enemy?
No one knows, it’s never happened…..
Anyhoo, first international event the Obama administration hasn’t screwed up so far, and the WWII veteran uncle is a good thing. Just don’t apologize to the Germans for running them out of France, OK Mr. President.
Hog Wild on June 3, 2009 at 5:52 PM
The day after almost 800 Lancasters bombed Dresden, over 300 Flying Fortresses bombed the city. Had the weather been clearer, U.S. bombers were scheduled to bomb the city, first.
OhEssYouCowboys on June 3, 2009 at 6:01 PM
Ha! At the copy shop, I met this woman who was a retired WAVE. She and her brothers all enlisted in the Navy after Pearl. She was going to some sort of WAVE convention. In her 80s and still a real firecracker, too.
Blake on June 3, 2009 at 6:02 PM
FYI:
http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/PopTopics/dresden.htm” rel=”nofollow”>Dresden
Blake on June 3, 2009 at 6:05 PM
For the record, the atrocities committed by the Germans during WW2 never cease to amaze me. I’l never apologize to a kraut.
Blake on June 3, 2009 at 6:07 PM
I’ve often wondered what the Japanese and the Germans thought, when hundreds upon hundreds of heavy bombers were razing their cities – were they still grinning – like they had been in the early years of the war, when they waged war and assumed victory?
Of course, my questions are rhetorical. They had to be in utter awe, at the vengeance they had reaped.
OhEssYouCowboys on June 3, 2009 at 6:14 PM
I know. I’m Canadian. However seeing as Ogabe will be in Dresden on the 5th, I’m pretty sure he won’t be able to keep his mouth shut on the subject. “…and to show you how sorry I am I sent back a bust of The War Criminal back to Britain….” or something like that.
Caper29 on June 3, 2009 at 6:37 PM
OhEssYouCowboys on June 3, 2009 at 6:14 PM
Clearly the raids on Japan and Germany failed to utterly demoralize the civilian and military despite the wholesale destruction of entire cities… they wanted to and did keep fighting. The exception would have to be the A-Bomb attacks on Japan which did demoralize the public (it wasn’t until US forces got there that things started moving again). German war production was pretty resilient which is why they ended up going after key components to slow it all down…
I imagine their response wouldn’t be much different to the attacks on London’s East End during WW2 or the attack on New York on 9-11… homes and families getting attacked tends to stiffen resolve rather than break it. But whatever… they started it.
lexhamfox on June 3, 2009 at 6:39 PM
Ed, you missed an important point about Obama’s uncle:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/01/obamas-great-uncle-says-president-visiting-concentration-camp-site-political/
And recalling Obama’s campaign trail gaffe:
When you read the article as a whole, it’s clear he doesn’t dislike The One, but it also seems as if he doesn’t have a lot of respect for him.
RightWinged on June 3, 2009 at 6:44 PM
“For the record, the atrocities committed by the Germans during WW2 never cease to amaze me. I’l never apologize to a kraut.” – Blake on June 3, 2009 at 6:07 PM
Those that committed the atrocities are all dying, just like our veterans. What I am always amazed about is the Japanese atrocities that seem to have been forgotten, but everyone remembers our dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
SC.Charlie on June 3, 2009 at 6:47 PM
Uncle Payne better watch his back, this trip is probably to shut him up about the “playing politics” statement. Any more from the bad Uncle and the bus will get cranking.
ProudinNC on June 3, 2009 at 6:47 PM
Any Jews invited?
bluelightbrigade on June 3, 2009 at 6:52 PM
That’s what they say, however, I don’t believe it. There is a big difference when you are deep in your cozy bunker as opposed to getting boiled alive in the basement of your apt. house.
Blake on June 3, 2009 at 6:52 PM
SC.Charlie on June 3, 2009 at 6:47 PM
The March April edition of Foreign Affairs has an excellent detailed essay comparing the differences and results of how Germany and Japan dealt with their actions during the war and the impact that has had on their relationship with their neighbors. Koreans still see Japan as a bigger threat than their northern kin or the Chinese. It has very real implications today.
lexhamfox on June 3, 2009 at 6:53 PM
“My uncle the typical white allied war criminal…”
Caper29 on June 3, 2009 at 6:57 PM
What about me? I was the leader of the French resistance in the village of Nouvion, and I didn’t get invited:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boexrgu1hCk
Michelle Dubois on June 3, 2009 at 6:58 PM
Good point. There are a lot of great websites memorializing the victims and telling what happened to them that have sprung up.
Blake on June 3, 2009 at 7:00 PM
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