Re: Sgt. Schueler:
Michel Sardou is a French Singer bon in 1947. In 1967, his career was really launched, thanks to a censorship: while France left NATO's military command and the Vietnam War caused an anti-American sentiment in France, Michel Sardou launched "Les Ricains" (The Yanks). This song insists on the duty of gratitude the French owe to the USA for their participation in WW II beginning on the beaches at Normandy. Charles de Gaulle didn't like this song and he advised against broadcasting it on the air.
This first video is of Sardou singing the song. The gist of the song is that if the Yanks (Americans) had not come to France at Normandy, the French people today would still be under Nazi rule and speaking German. The reference to Georgia in the song refers to a man coming from Georgia to fight the Nazis in France. He didn’t know one Frenchman, but he was willing, and did, sacrifice his life in an effort to free the French (and the rest of the world) of the Nazis.
The second video is a little tough to watch though appropriate for this weekend. The last scene (showing a helmet atop a rifle) is especially poignant. These videos will be shown to Sergeant Schueler—along with others.
Enjoy the holiday on Monday yet remember it was the real heroes (as I’m sure Sgt. Schueler would agree), in US cemeteries around the world who paid the ultimate price to make the holiday ‘free’.
Well Done, Welcome Back, Sgt. Schueler (and to those of my VN generation).
And to my two best friends in France, Eric and Georges: Merci, merci !!
Don…..