Seaman pows by the french in africa

[Lewis McColl]

Hopefully this is the link to my album showing the memorial near Marmonde.
Even though it is in the middle of a round about when there is no traffic to shatter the peace and quiet it is a very moving experience just to be there.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...1&l=d4cdceb67c

Could I ask you to respect my privacy concerning this link, thank you.

[Doc Vernon]

Thank you for the Link and yes indeed we must respect one's Privacy.
Let us all remember that!

[j.sabourn]

#20... Lewis whenever I read stories about the Free French and their underground system against the Germans I always take with a pinch of salt. No doubt a lot of help was given to allied air crew shot down over occupied france, the occassional acts of sabotage was rarer than what one is lead to believe, and the killing of a German soldier would have brought instant reprisals via the deaths by firing squad by many innocent people, so french resistance was not as strong as one is made to believe. An account of facts and figures if I remember correctly sent to Denis in Canada as a documentary states that in the initial Normandy landings think among the many thousands of allied troops to hit the beaches, there were a total of 12 Free French forces, and yet Churchill let De Gaulle lead the free French into Paris supposedly against his will for propoganda purposes. Credit where it is due, but believe the french got way above their share. Cheers JWS

[j.sabourn]

#23.... Sorry errata.. re number of French forces hitting their home beaches, have just rechecked the figures and was 177 .... viva la France. Doesn't say which wave they went in on though, JWS.

[j.sabourn]

On June 6 D Day. The US landed 23,250 troops (Utah)
34,250 (Omaha)
15,500 Airborne
British 24,970 (gold)plus 21,400 (Juno)
7,900 British and Canadian airborne
Canadian troops numbered 28, 845 (sword)
177 free French forces were with the invaders....This was the first day only. JWS.

[cappy]

they should have been in the front row john ...there was bloody thousands of them in this country living of us for free for nearly five years......isnt that disgusting thats all they could muster.....they probably asked the thousands of them for volunteers to free there homeland well that about sums it up....177 volunteers out of thousands to free there own country.....jeez the truth is awful to behold cappy

[j.sabourn]

As I say Cappy if all those thousands who didn't even make it off the beaches could come back and see Britain in league and very low on the ladder of the E.U. They would be a bit disgusted methinks. Died for nothing springs to mind. JWS.

[Lewis McColl]

I will not argue with your figures as I don't know the numbers, what I do know is like in a lot of villages in the UK there are war memorials with the names of the fallen engraved there.
I used to have a holiday home in the Aude region in a village called Alet les Bain, I have attended the armistice day parade in the village and the local school kids sing the La Marseillaise then the Marie/Mayor reads out all the names of those who died in both ww's. I was with an American who said to me, they did not lose to many in the second world war did they!!! he was right there are only 6 names on the memorial but there are 54 names from ww1. The population of the village in ww1 was 382 one would assume the reason that they lost 6 in the second war was because the men who should have fathered the next generation had died in ww1. Yes I know the same will be true about small villages in the UK. Alet les Bains is not that far from the Spanish border and it was used to smuggle airmen and anyone else into Spain. The Germans got hammered by the Maquis in that area and the Americans dropped an OSS officer into the area,In Memory, Paul Swank, American Hero, died 8/17/1944 yes this area was under Vichy control but that village is a very split community. I did get to know some nice people there on one side I had a neighbour who was friendly and the other one who was not so friendly. I did ask what the score was with the odd ball and the reply was he was Vichy during the war, he also told me he had not spoken to him in 60 years.
Concerning Churchill and De Gaulle , Churchill did get the last laugh did he not as he requested if he died before De Gaulle his funeral cortege was to go over Waterloo bridge.

[j.sabourn]

De gaulle also had another effigy in Chiang Kai Shek another self made general who also took the western powers at the time for a ride. JWS

[Lewis McColl]

De gaulle also had another effigy in Chiang Kai Shek another self made general who also took the western powers at the time for a ride. JWS

At least you will be happy Chiang Kai Shek was not a communist (Formosa/Tawain)