Georgia military base honors Wehrmacht POWs

[Charlie Brown]

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/1104/14germans.html

And each November, Fort Benning's German Army liaison team hosts "Volkstrauertag" — Germany's day of mourning — to honor the dead soldiers, most of them killed by illnesses or in accidents.

For convenience, the memorial service will be held Wednesday — four days earlier than the official observances in Germany.

"The minimum you can do is honor these soldiers who sacrificed," said Lt. Col. Herbert R. Sladek, the German liaison officer. "They were educated in another time period, with another political guideline. In their opinion, they also fought for freedom, liberty and for their fatherland. That's why these people gave all they had — their own lives."

[MnFats]

1. well i guess they've just decided to drop the mask all together...

Jesus, what next?
Celebrating Herman Goering's birthday?

[Kellanved]

3. please, there is a difference

The soldiers were drafted into the Wehrmacht. Whatever or not these particular men participated in atrocities is unknown.

They died while they were in American imprisonment, working for the USA.

[BiggJawn]

5. So they should just remove the headstones...

...And build monument to Poppy bush on top of the graves?

I seriously doubt that all the PNAC guys attend and sing the "Horst Wessel" song.

Erich Topp (look him up) said it best "Yesterday's Enemies are Today's Friends."

Thee's a hell of a lot of difference between laying flowers on a dead U-Bootsman's grave and honouring Heinrich Himmler.

[DieboldMustDie]

2. Remember Reagan at Bitburg?

[Journeyman]

7. At Bitburg, Reagan honored the dead of the SS. . .

Quite a difference between the Death's Head criminals and Wehrmacht soldiers.

[Lefty48197]

4. I thought Reagan already honored all the nazis at Bitburg?

Did he miss some?

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. Well, for that matter, Queen honours Wehrmacht POW

OBE for the German hero who stuck his neck out

Herr Trautmann, who played in goal for Manchester City in the early postwar years, will be appointed an honorary Order of the British Empire by Sir Peter Torry, the British Ambassador.

“I am really proud of this award,” Herr Trautmann, 81, told The Times. “And happy that I could help bring Britain and Germany together in human and sporting terms during difficult times.”
...
The tall, blond Bremen worker had been drafted into the German parachute regiment. After what he later described as a prank, he was sentenced to three months in jail by a German army tribunal on sabotage charges. Instead of serving out the term, he was sent to the Russian Front, and was captured by the Red Army.

He escaped and was transferred to the Western Front. Captured by the French, he escaped again. In March 1945 he was captured by the Americans and again fled. Eventually the English managed to hold him; and in PoW Camp 50 in Ashton, he began his footballing career. “The camp commandant was an eccentric Scottish major who organised games between the prisoners and local teams,” said Herr Trautmann. His reputation as an acrobatic goalkeeper grew. After he was officially freed, he was signed by St Helens Town.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1338848,00.html

I just love that story: sentenced by the Germans, escaped from the Soviets, French and Americans.