Posted on 06/06/2009 8:27:58 PM PDT by naturalman1975
Sixty-five years after Hitler failed to make Britain’s D-Day effort a footnote in world history, France and America finally realised his dream yesterday.
As thousands of British veterans paid their final respects to the men they left behind on Normandy’s beaches, President Nicolas Sarkozy and President Barack Obama presented D-Day – the turning point of the Second World War – as a Franco-American affair
Despite months of diplomatic wrangling between London, Paris and Washington, the Queen remained absent from the official commemoration of the 65th anniversary, held at the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach at Colleville-sur-Mer. And Prince Charles, without the Duchess of Cornwall by his side, made only a token appearance, laying a wreath in honour of the war dead just moments before the end of the 90-minute ceremony.
Earlier in the day he had been lost for words when Ernest Townsend, 86, a Royal Artillery gunner at the Normandy landings, asked him: ‘Why isn’t your mother here?’
Mr Townsend was one of about 800 Second World War ex-servicemen who met the Prince while paying their respects at a Commonwealth cemetery in Bayeux, the final resting place of more than 4,000 Commonwealth and other soldiers.
About 5,000 family, friends and well-wishers from Britain, France and other European countries applauded as the men marched under regimental banners.
Though clearly happy to see the Prince after his 11th-hour invitation, the French government’s perceived snub to the Queen continued to anger Mr Townsend and his comrades.
‘I told him how pleased I was to see him, but I’m a plain-speaking man and I also asked why his mother wasn’t here,’ he said.
‘He just smiled at me and gave me a shrug which I took to mean, “You know why, and I know why, but I can’t say.”
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Why is Bozo shading his eyes?
Charles with his ribbons his mummy gave him and his pet sock monke......no, never mind, that is our Kenyan Precedent sadly.
D Day Veterans deserved much more respect than that POS clown posse parade of polididiots and frivolity could ever present !
I really hate seeing that limpwristed metrosexual attempting a salute with his prettily manicured hand.
0’s on the wrong foot.
Does anyone else get the impression that something is very “not right” about Gordon Brown?
Oh, and what a ludicrous excuse for a salute from our own Dear Leader.
She joined the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service, as No. 230873 Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor. She trained as a driver and mechanic, drove a military truck, and rose to the rank of Junior Commander.[22] She is, at present, "the only living head of state who served in uniform during World War II"
Most of what he wears are minor ceremonial decorations - of a type awarded to tens of thousands of British and Commonwealth servicemen as a matter of participation in certain events. His Royal Highness did spend over five years as a sailor on active deployment with the Royal Navy and is as entitled to these as any other serviceman. Others are civil awards for services to charity and similar, and he's spent much of his life engaged in the type of work that receives them.
He has the Queen's Service Order of New Zealand "for valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the public sector, whether in elected or appointed office." As the active Patron of a large number of charities operating in New Zealand, he has earned this decoration.
The Queen's Coronation Medal, Silver Jubilee Medal, and Golden Jubilee Medal are sheer courtesies awarded at the time of the Coronation and the Jubilee to tens of thousands British and Commonwealth servicemen with qualifying service. He has as much right to these as any other man who has served in the uniform.
The Canadian Forces Decoration is awarded to virtually any member of the Canadian Armed Forces who serves twelve years with good conduct. He is Colonel-In-Chief of seven Canadian Regiments, and this is qualifying service.
The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal is similar to the Coronation and Jubilee Medals. A courtesy award given to a great many people who served in the New Zealand Defence Force in honour of the commemoration of a particular situation.
In every case, the Prince of Wales has earned the medals he is wearing through qualifying service. He has a number of others he hasn't earned - he isn't wearing them on this occasion. He's only wearing the ones he has earned.
Did France give us a cemetery??
B0z0 Zer0 - you have no clue!
Why is he saluting?
I am dumb on these issues, but doesn’t rank determine who salutes first?
I am aware of hundreds (actually more) of years of Britain/Mainland issues over various things - from religion, to the European Union), but what gives that she can't get off her high-horse and pay respects to the many who gave their lives for the turning point of WWII?
Her Majesty is 83 years old, the Duke of Edinburgh (himself a WWII veteran who would have insisted on accompanying his wife) is 86. They are still very healthy for their age, but they can't just jump across the channel at will. It takes planning.
She wasn’t invited.
Thank you for the information. If my memory is correct HRH has served in all three branches of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces in his role as future Commander in Chief. Which is more than one can say of TOTUS unless you count the apologist branch of the Weather Underground.
I assume he is responding to salutes by American veterans or ex-servicemen off to the side out of sight.
None of the other men in that line would salute as a matter of protocol (the Prince of Wales would return a salute only if in uniform and wearing his hat, the Prime Ministers and President Sarkozy would not salute). Somewhere along the line it has become protocol for US Presidents to return salutes no matter what they are wearing, so President Obama is probably acting correctly according to protocol. The others are also doing so according to the protocols of their own countries.
as a 1st gen Scottish American, seeing the treatment by 0bama’s ‘administration’ is infuriating and embarrassing. (don’t get me wrong, the administration infuriates me with it’s treatment of me and people like me... those that have a job and don’t ask for handouts)
i’m glad to see the Queen stayed away... these ‘men’ do a disservice to the valor and honor of those that came before.
I didn’t know Sarkozy was so tiny.
What little, little men.
The giants are those who took that beach and carried it into history.
We shall have to look to their stern countenance ever over our shoulder for strengthening in the storm--
--for all we'll get from the petty egos is nauseating narcissism.
And our puke poseur returned the bust of Winston Churchill--
--who had more character in his pinkie than Hussein has evinced in his megalomaniac ramblings since his fog-shrouded birth.
As for the Jerry Lewis Who Would Be King, what on earth is he doing not inviting the Queen.
We cut out of there in 1699 and there's just less and less there to admire.
God Bless the veterans of Normandy.
They hold the high ground of history.
Yeah .......right. Sure he earned all that. Keep telling yerself such.
“I assume he is responding to salutes by American veterans or ex-servicemen off to the side out of sight.”
I did not think about that possibility. Brain cells have fallen asleep.
He is a substantive retired Lieutenant of the Royal Navy, but now holds honourary rank as a General in the Army, Admiral in the Navy, and Air Chief Marshal in the Air Force - and if he'd wanted to show off in Normandy, he'd be fully entitled to wear any of those uniforms. He chose only to wear those decorations to which he is entitled by qualifying service. He was present at the Coronation, and the Jubilees, and at New Zealand's Waitangi celebrations, He does have twelve years qualifying service with the Canadian Forces.
She doesn’t like being hugged in public?
Yes, he did.
I’m a former protocol officer of the Royal Australian Navy. I know the requirements to wear particular decorations in British and Commonwealth forces - he has qualifying service for all the decorations he is wearing in that photo.
Some of them are pretty easy to qualify for - which means tens of thousands (in some cases hundreds of thousands) of other people got them in the same way he did, but he did the same to earn them as anyone else.
The Prince does have a whole bunch of medals he’s got simply for being a Prince and he does wear them on occasions where protocol requires them - but he’s not wearing them in Normandy because he chooses not to wear unearned decorations at ceremonies honouring veterans.
He only wears the ones he has earned under Queen’s Regulations.
The Golden Jubilee Medal for example was awarded to all British servicemen present at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations (which he was) with at least five years military service (he has five years and four months I believe). Something like 120,000 of them were awarded.
Amen.
His total military service was 5 years and 4 months ?
You ought to see him next to his wife. He’s a shrimp like Kuccinich.
That was his service as a regular officer of the Royal Air Force (six months training) and Royal Navy (five years, two months, including service as a helicopter pilot with 845 Squadron flying commando units, and command of a minehunter).
He has a great deal of 'ceremonial' service as well and some of that - although I couldn't say precisely how much - has crossed back over into regular service at times for logistical reasons (until recently he quite often flew Royal Air Force planes himself when using them for royal trips, and to do that, he had to temporarily return to RAF service).
“Does anyone else get the impression that something is very “not right” about Gordon Brown?”
He has a corn cob stuck up his @$$.
Prime Minister Brown is close to being legally blind. He has one false eye due to an accident when he was young. The other one is failing.
When he reads a speech, I understand the letters are very large so he can see them.
Leni
THANK YOU very much for sharing your knowledge with us, I found it all very interesting...
Ok - so it isn’t so much the Queen, but France (the Cheese-Eating-Surrender Monkeys that “we” saved in that war, who dropped the proverbial ball.
But why? Was it an intentional slight?
Ok I am just asking as in my military career I NEVER saw a officer rise to command their own ship (as foul mouthed idiot above posted ) unless it was a RHIB boat or landing craft in that short of time. Is that a normal thing in the queens serivce or was this royal fast tracked due his mum ?
..... grateful for yer service and glad ya got home safe !
HMS Bronington, which the Prince commanded was 440 tons with a crew of 33.
They were typically commanded by Lieutenants or Lieutenants-Commander and it was by no means unheard of for an officer of four or five years experience to be given command of one.
It was the first command they could legitimately give him, and they gave it to him as early as they legitimately could. So it was probably fast tracked in that sense. But some other young officers of equal experience got the same opportunity.
HMS Glasserton, sister ship to the Bronington.
What a shame. Everything “zero”touches is tainted. I have no doubt that the Queen not being invited was his doing.
Thanks for the lesson and information I stand corrected and sorry for my comments then.........I was wrong.
If you kept an ear to the news, instead of getting on YOUR high horse, you would have learned she was not invited - turn your ire on the head of France who deliberately and shamefully did not invite the Queen of England - the ONLY one who would been in that lineup who actually was in uniform and served in that war -
Here's an idea. Never hurts to learn something.
Here ya go -
http://www.onlinewatchmovies.net/2009/03/queen-2006-hollywood-movie-watch-online.html
1: Nu Labour has shown remarkable apathy to this anniversary. This is probably the last opportunity of D-Day vets to go back to Normandy. At first Nu Labour was unwilling to foot the bill so the vets can go one last time. It took some of the UK press especially the Daily Mail to express outrage and raised a tidy sum to finance the trips. Nu Labour enentually gave in.
2: The Queen as head of state needs a formal invitation to show up to an event like this. Given the apathy of Nu Labour to this event the French did not invite her. Some French spokesperson claimed Sarkozy just wanted Zero to himself without worrying about Her Majesty stealing the limelight.
3: Some other Frenchies claimed they wanted to invite Her Majesty but did not hear anything back from 10 Downing Street.
To summarize Queen Elizabeth was snubbed due to Sarkozy wanting to kiss TOTUS butt and apathy from Nu Labour.
C'mon Chuck! Be a stand-up guy for once and tell everyone that BROWN & OBAMA & SARKOZY are sexist, elitist, socialist dweebs that don't give a FIG for history or honoring those who truly deserve it!!! Talk about media and power whores!
Like your Mum, for instance, WHO WAS A MECHANIC AND DROVE AN AMBULANCE during WWII! Or perhaps all the VETERANS WHO SHOWED UP DESPITE YOU GUYS SHOWING UP!!!
What an OUTRAGE! Obama Beach my arse!!!
It's not your fault. You are obviously a product of our dumbed-down school system.
The Queen has always been involved in these commemorations. Her presence honors those who fought. This time around however, the BOYZ decided she shouldn't be there to steal the spotlight.
Battman, I believe the Queen and her high horse were not invited. It was written up recently.
Do we know why the Queen was not invited?
I heard she wasn’t invited but didn’t hear why.
I thought American conservatives generally believed constitutions should be treated with respect.
Constitutionally, the Prince of Wales is unable to criticise Her Majesty’s Government. If he did so, he’d create a major constitutional crisis - and at the moment as Britain is already teetering on the edge of such a crisis, he’d be incredibly irresponsible to do so. He can’t criticise Brown at the moment.
There’s no constitutional impediment to him criticising the leaders of foreign allied governments, but diplomatically it’s not his place to do so.
Also the Prince of Wales military service is longer than his mothers was. He didn’t serve in war, it is true, but that’s because there was no war going on at the time.
Just a final point - Her Majesty did not drive ambulances during World War II. She served in an honourable capacity, certainly, but as a truck driver, not an ambulance driver.
There’s no definitive answer to that.
Some people feel it was because Sarkozy wanted the commemoration to be a strictly American-French affair, for his own political domestic purposes. No members of the British establishment were invited until they started agitating for an invitation, and the French then started inviting only those who they were pressured to do so - initially Prime Minister Gordon Brown and only at the last minute inviting the Queen and the Royal Family.
Other people feel it was incompetence on the part of either the British government or the French or both in simply not following the correct procedures surrounding such an invitation.
Still others think it was a deliberate snub.
Some have also suggested the White House might not have wanted the British royals there.
That's a keen eye that you have there ntnychik.
Her Majesty did not drive ambulances during World War II. She served in an honourable capacity, certainly, but as a truck driver, not an ambulance driver.
Her Majesty did indeed drive an ambulance. In particular, she drove an Austen K2. See pg. 19 in the book.
Constitutionally, the Prince of Wales is unable to criticise Her Majesty’s Government.
If this is true, then I apologize.
I thought American conservatives generally believed constitutions should be treated with respect.
I do absolutely, however as I was unaware of this significant difference between our respective governments, you have my apology. Furthermore, you will notice that I did not criticize Prince Charles for being in attendance.
Unfortunately I can't access page 19 in the preview, but I believe it to be incorrect. Why? Because Her Majesty herself corrected me on this point - and believe me you do not forget being told you have made a mistake by your Queen!
OK, I have just managed to access the page through another route. I can certainly believe she learned to drive the K2 as it says at 1 Mechanical Training Centre but that was where she trained. She became a supply driver after completing training.
The Blitz occurred when then Princess Elizabeth was only 13 and 14 years old - I think there's a lot around on the web that has taken the fact she was a driver (and the book you've quoted does convince me she trained on ambulances) and have extrapolated from that as to what her role was.
By 1945 when she was 18 and had joined the ATS, there wasn't that much call for military ambulances within Britain anymore. I wonder if that was why they might have been used in the training schools.
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