gotsnowgotslush
skates like Eck
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2007
- Posts
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"The soldiers, resplendent in uniforms and chests bursting with medals and ribbons, had come from around the world to regroup – much as they had 70 years ago – on the beaches of Normandy.
They were fewer in number and not as sprightly as they had been on that day, June 6, 1944, when they had sprinted across the sand, weaving around the bodies of fallen comrades to avoid the German machine guns and shells. The years have passed, but the memories have never faded.
It was, as President François Hollande told veterans and world leaders gathered to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-day landings, a day that should never and would never be forgotten."
Hollande told guests including German chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian president Vladimir Putin, newly elected Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, US president Barack Obama and Britain's Queen Elizabeth:
The 6th June is not a day like others: it is not just the longest day or a day to remember the dead, but a day for the living to keep the promise written with the blood of the fighters, to be loyal to their sacrifice by building a world that is fairer and more human.
Those young men did not hesitate for one second. They advanced … at the risk of their own lives to combat a diabolic regime, they advanced for a noble cause, they advanced to liberate us.
They were heroes. They were all heroes. The 6th June they began to liberate France. As the sun set on that longest day a light shone on enslaved Europe.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/06/d-day-landings-70-years-anniversary-live
http://www.pevenseybaylife.co.uk/d-day-landings-70th-anniversary-live-coverage/
Honouring the war work of animals
Since the first Dickin Medal in 1943, the PDSA has conferred the award on 65 animals, including dogs, pigeons, horses and a cat. Many of those animals, including a carrier pigeon which relayed one of the first reports on Allied operations on D Day, earned the award for work carried out during the Second World War. During that conflict, dogs were recruited and trained by the British Armed Forces to serve as guards and on patrol; the Second World War also saw the first use of mine detection dogs in the British Army. In total during the war, the Army and Ministry of Aircraft Production employed some 3,500 dogs for guard, patrol and mine detection duties.
In May 2014, British Army dog Sasha became the 29th canine to receive the Dickin Medal. The Labrador and her handler, Lance Corporal Kenneth Rowe, were killed nearly six years ago whilst on duty in Afghanistan. Almost seventy years after Bing was awarded the Dickin Medal for jumping over Normandy, Sasha’s posthumous award reflects the continued usefulness of the military working dog, which seems likely to remain a mainstay of the British Armed Forces in the immediate, and perhaps, distant future.
https://history.blog.gov.uk/2014/06...-d-m-and-the-future-of-military-working-dogs/
gsgs comment-
President Obama served our image in the international community, well.
There were no gaffes or incidents during the ceremonies to honor those who served.
They were fewer in number and not as sprightly as they had been on that day, June 6, 1944, when they had sprinted across the sand, weaving around the bodies of fallen comrades to avoid the German machine guns and shells. The years have passed, but the memories have never faded.
It was, as President François Hollande told veterans and world leaders gathered to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-day landings, a day that should never and would never be forgotten."
Hollande told guests including German chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian president Vladimir Putin, newly elected Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, US president Barack Obama and Britain's Queen Elizabeth:
The 6th June is not a day like others: it is not just the longest day or a day to remember the dead, but a day for the living to keep the promise written with the blood of the fighters, to be loyal to their sacrifice by building a world that is fairer and more human.
Those young men did not hesitate for one second. They advanced … at the risk of their own lives to combat a diabolic regime, they advanced for a noble cause, they advanced to liberate us.
They were heroes. They were all heroes. The 6th June they began to liberate France. As the sun set on that longest day a light shone on enslaved Europe.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/06/d-day-landings-70-years-anniversary-live
http://www.pevenseybaylife.co.uk/d-day-landings-70th-anniversary-live-coverage/
Honouring the war work of animals
Since the first Dickin Medal in 1943, the PDSA has conferred the award on 65 animals, including dogs, pigeons, horses and a cat. Many of those animals, including a carrier pigeon which relayed one of the first reports on Allied operations on D Day, earned the award for work carried out during the Second World War. During that conflict, dogs were recruited and trained by the British Armed Forces to serve as guards and on patrol; the Second World War also saw the first use of mine detection dogs in the British Army. In total during the war, the Army and Ministry of Aircraft Production employed some 3,500 dogs for guard, patrol and mine detection duties.
In May 2014, British Army dog Sasha became the 29th canine to receive the Dickin Medal. The Labrador and her handler, Lance Corporal Kenneth Rowe, were killed nearly six years ago whilst on duty in Afghanistan. Almost seventy years after Bing was awarded the Dickin Medal for jumping over Normandy, Sasha’s posthumous award reflects the continued usefulness of the military working dog, which seems likely to remain a mainstay of the British Armed Forces in the immediate, and perhaps, distant future.
https://history.blog.gov.uk/2014/06...-d-m-and-the-future-of-military-working-dogs/
gsgs comment-
President Obama served our image in the international community, well.
There were no gaffes or incidents during the ceremonies to honor those who served.
