[Closed] D-Day anniversary

Why the eff is there an EU flag there? 😡

US, UK, Canada, (Free) France for sure. Maybe some other allied countries like Poland had units in action on June 6 as well and should be included. But the EU? Political correctness gone mad! 🙄

I've been to Normandy myself. The scale is overwhelming. I hit most of the main museums and Omaha beach. Only British part we hit was Pegasus Bridge, which we spent a good bit of time at.

That's the crappest "sculpture" I have ever seen.

Two sugars?

Doesn't look like they bothered to invite anyone who was actually there. Plenty of good old men and women around who fought...

I can see 2 Veterans.

When I first look at the picture I had thought someone had stolen the sculptures
and eft the plinths.

To think this is to remember the 50th year of those that had given there lives
is a bit piss poor to be honest.

Perhaps it lights up.

[img] [/img]

I immediately saw a representation of tank traps, so maybe it does work.

As for the EU flag, don't forget the Germans were there too... 🙂

I seen sandstone to represent the beaches but it's a bit dull.

How wonderfully touchy-feely all inclusive non discriminatory and just so Right On it all is!

Why the eff is there an EU flag there?

To show its appreciation 🙂

Why the eff is there an EU flag there?

[quote=JoeG ]Why the eff is there an EU flag there?
US, UK, Canada, (Free) France for sure. Maybe some other allied countries like Poland had units in action on June 6 as well and should be included. But the EU? Political correctness gone mad! Five blocks, five beaches, five flags. How else would you represent the various European soldiers who fought and died in Normandy?

How else would you represent the various European soldiers who fought and died in Normandy?

I immediately thought of the 5 beaches. Works for me.

[quote=MidlandTrailquestsGraham ]

How else would you represent the various European soldiers who fought and died in Normandy?

You'd prefer this?
[img] [/img]

Something in that style, yes. Why, is that unusual?

Squidlord - Member

Why the eff is there an EU flag there?

Maybe to remind us that we're all friends now?

When did the US and Canada become part of the EU? 🙄

I agree.

There's countries in the EU that didn't even fight in WW2, let alone on the beaches of Normandy.

Using the EU flag is a serious distortion of history imo, which can never be a good thing.

I saw some of these old photos in a paper today.

[b]What tyres[/b]

[img] [/img]

[b]For[/b]
[img] [/img]
[b]D-Day[/b]

[img] [/img]

fasthaggis - Member
I saw some of these old photos in a paper today.

What tyres

26x1?" also known as 650A

Made the Normandy roads come alive... 🙂

[img] [/img]

That'll be the Singular Puffins everyone is waiting for

To think this is to remember the 50th year of those that had given there lives is a bit piss poor to be honest.

You might just want to double check your maths there.

What he said ^ 🙂
Hope to be heading over to Caen on Thurs for a few days.
Looking forward to the trip.

Hmm, wasn't the whole idea of the EU that we wouldn't have another European war, in which case it is entirely appropriate that the flag is there, otherwise UKIP types might forget what the EU is all about.

ernie_lynch - Member
I agree.

There's countries in the EU that didn't even fight in WW2, let alone on the beaches of Normandy.

Using the EU flag is a serious distortion of history imo, which can never be a good thing.

I agree with Ernest.

As an aside, I used to live on one of the beaches in question. Every walk on the beach humbled me, thinking of the sheer bloody bravery of attacking it, and the sheer bloody determination of defending it. Mine wasn't even one of the hardest beaches.

The sculpture? I like the concept, as it happens.

Hmm, wasn't the whole idea of the EU that we wouldn't have another European war, in which case it is entirely appropriate that the flag is there, otherwise UKIP types might forget what the EU is all about.

Absolute piffle, do you really believe this ?

The whole idea of the EU Project is to create a self serving, undemocratic Oligarchy for the benefit of the inner party.

btw Flags are for sovereign nations and normally have some meaning, the EU symbol is just that a symbol or a logo, as we all know the swastika was a symbol.

Meanwhile, ignored by seemingly every national newspaper, this was going on in South Devon:
http://www.exercisetigerslapton.org/70th-anniversary/
I have a particular interest, in that the gentleman who organised it, and who is pictured in the article, John Casson, is a friend of mine.
One thing to note, an American soldier who rescued around 100 of his comrades from the water was awarded the Silver Star. The medal was taken away from him because the US military were embarrassed, and didn't want the debacle known, and to this day, and he's in his 90's, the medal has not been returned.

Meanwhile, ignored by the BBC

CZ, in the boathouse of the family place on the Salcombe estuary, we had graffiti from the days when the house had been used as an officer's mess by the US. We think that the boathouse had been used as a kind of bar/social area. Am sure there are some photos of it somewhere, must find them! Place now sadly sold, and graffiti almost certainly gone. Always felt like a little bit of 'real' history.

Excellent 'then and now' series of photographs in the [url= http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/ng-interactive/2014/jun/01/d-day-landings-scenes-in-1944-and-now-interactive ][i]Grauniad[/i][/url].

Why the eff is there an EU flag there?

US, UK, Canada, (Free) France for sure. Maybe some other allied countries like Poland had units in action on June 6 as well and should be included. But the EU? Political correctness gone mad!

Have you actually bothered to read the article? The EU funded the project.

Still a pretty crap sculpture, though.

And nobody noticed the name of the sculpter?
Oliver [b]Merkin[/b]

ernie_lynch - Member

Using the EU flag is a serious distortion of history imo

It would be, if they were claiming the EU had anything to do with D-Day, which they're not. "The abstract nature of the artwork aims to encourage reflection on what D-Day means to each individual", and for some people D-Day means another opportunity to get offended on the internet 😉

The EU funded the project.

Well of course the EU wanted to get onto the D Day commemorations, that doesn't however detract from the fact that the successful Allied invasion of Occupied Europe had bugger all to do with the EU.

Some of the countries involved in the D Day landings, ie the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand aren't even European countries. And one leading EU country, ie Germany, went out of its way to try to make D Day a failure.

If D Day commemorations have now become a bit of an embarrassment then don't bother commemorating the event - that's got to be preferable to rewriting history.

A big part of the rationale of the EU was to foster closer co-operation between European countries and to prevent further wars.

In France you generally never see the president standing with just a French flag, always has the EU flag too. Germany likewise. We don't in the UK as we are generally more EU sceptic.

No one is trying to re-write history by having an EU flag at the event.

Frothing about the EU flag aside

The sculpture's got a bit of whiff of Spinal Taps stonehenge about it. It'd look great - if it was 5x the size.

The EU funded the project.

I suppose that justifies the EU LOGO being flaunted then !

Thank the Good Lord Maccy D s didnt sponsor it.

The sculpture's got a bit of whiff of Spinal Taps stonehenge about it. It'd look great - if it was 5x the size.

The designer probably saw a hand drawn sketch, and confused 5m and 5in. Wouldn't have happened if the UK had embraced Europe and fully adopted metric measures. I blame the UKIP.

A proper statue, maybe?

Stuckist.

Five strong blocks on a mirrored surface. Looks great. Very evocative.

A big part of the rationale of the EU was to foster closer co-operation between European countries and to prevent further wars.

OK, so you've made a case for the EU (which btw was established almost 50 years after the end of WW2) this however is about commemorating the D Day landings. Those who died on the beaches of Normandy weren't fighting for the EU.

And there is an even greater and more direct link between the establishment of UN and the desire to prevent further global wars. So where was the UN flag then ?

the EU (which btw was established almost 50 years after the end of WW2)

Hmm, are you a pedant or a fool???

The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), formed by the Inner Six countries in 1951 and 1958, respectively.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union

Am I a pedant or a fool ? Well I'm not so stupid as to think that the EU is the same as European Coal and Steel Community, if that helps.