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View Full Version : D-Day Veteran Politely Declines Obama Invitation



ELVIS
06-06-2014, 12:17 PM
Brix, France (http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/379738/d-day-veteran-politely-declines-obama-invitation-john-fund) — Some of the veterans attending the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings here in France have fascinating stories.

Take George Ciampa, the most vibrant and spry 89-year-old I have ever met. In 1944, he landed in Normandy as a soldier assigned to the 84th Graves Registration Unit. “I spent the next few years going from France to Germany helping to bury people,” he told me. He was involved in setting up the temporary military cemeteries in Normandy that have now become stirring memorials to our fallen dead.

The experience transformed George, and he eventually became a filmmaker celebrating America’s heroes. His website tells the story of the four documentaries he has done on military valor. He is still making films today.

This week, George received a call from the White House, who said they knew he would be over in France during D-Day, and wondered if he would attend a private meeting the White House was arranging for veterans with President Obama.

George thought about it for awhile and concluded he just couldn’t. “I have so many issues with the president’s policies, including the most recent ones,” he told me ruefully. “I just couldn’t convince myself to do it.”

He is not alone. The recent Bergdahl prisoner swap in which five hardened Taliban terrorists were released from prison is rubbing a lot of the military veterans attending D-Day events the wrong way. “It’s not that we don’t want to respect the commander-in-chief,” one told me sadly. “It’s just that he makes it so hard to do so.”


:elvis:

Nitro Express
06-06-2014, 02:26 PM
Most the World War II vets I knew never liked to talk about the war. I think they saw horrible things and it was a part of their life they were glad was in the rear view mirror. I had a sunday school teacher who was on a bombing crew. He started to tell us about it and he just cracked up when the memories came in.

ELVIS
06-06-2014, 02:51 PM
My history teacher defected from the Polish army...

vandeleur
06-06-2014, 02:53 PM
Some of the testimony of the veterans today has been very emotional and very humbling.

FORD
06-06-2014, 02:58 PM
It's just a damn shame that the 60th anniversary of D-Day was virtually ignored because the entire world was forced to mourn a dead piece of shit who had been a brain dead piece of shit for 30 years prior to that.

Now another 10 years rolls around and of course they observe the big date, but with these guys being in their 90s now, there just ain't many of them left. :(

Like that Navajo code talker guy who passed the other day.... he was 93 and he had to lie about his age to get in.