Anonymous
May 31, 2010
This is from an anonymous email circulating on
the Internet. The stories may or may
not be true, but the sentiments conveyed certainly hold true, which is why I am
reposting it here.
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Why the apologies, Mr. President?
At a time when our president and other
politicians tend to apologize for our country’s prior actions, here’s a
refresher on how some of our former patriots handled negative comments about
our country:
JFK’S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in
France in the early 60’s when DeGaulle decided to pull out of NATO. DeGaulle said he wanted all U.S. military
out of France as soon as possible.
Rusk responded, “Does that include those who are
buried here?”
DeGaulle did not respond.
You could have heard a pin drop.
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When in England at a large conference, Colin
Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were
just an example of “empire building” by President George Bush.
He answered, “Over the years, the United States
has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for
freedom beyond our borders. The only
amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that
did not return.”
You could have heard a pin drop.
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There was a conference in France some years ago
where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French
and American. During a break, one of
the French engineers commented, “Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has
done? He has sent an aircraft carrier
to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims.
What does he intend to do, bomb them?”
A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly,
“Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred
people. They are nuclear powered and
can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities. They have three cafeterias with the capacity
to feed 5,000 people three meals a day.
They can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water
each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting
victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships.
How many does France have?”
You could have heard a pin drop.
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A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval
conference that included admirals from the U.S., England, Canada, Australia and
France. At a cocktail reception, he
found himself standing with a large group of officers that included personnel
from most of those countries. Everyone
was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks when a French admiral
suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans
learn only English. He then asked, “Why
is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than
speaking French?”
Without hesitating, the American Admiral
replied, “Maybe it’s because the Brit’s, Canadians, Aussie’s and Americans
arranged it so you wouldn’t have to speak German.”
You could have heard a pin drop.
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A few years ago, Robert Whiting, an elderly
gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane.
At French Customs, he took a few extra minutes to locate his passport in
his carry on bag. “You have been to
France before, monsieur?” the customs officer asked sarcastically.
Mr. Whiting said that he had been to France
previously.
“Then you should know enough to have your
passport ready.”
The American said, “The last time I was here, I
didn’t have to show it.”
“Impossible.
Americans always have to show their passports on arrival in France!”
The American senior gave the Frenchman a long
hard look. Then he quietly explained,
‘’Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate
this country, I couldn’t find a single Frenchmen who demanded I show my
passport.”
You could have heard a pin drop.
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For those of us who are proud to be Americans,
no apologies are necessary.