Lost soldiers of won wars rest in honor
COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France - Fred Rhodes knows how soldiers returning from war can be treated and knows firsthand what American soldiers who served in Vietnam faced. He was one of them.
And although he is 50, he also knows firsthand how the soldiers of World War II were treated far differently, with respect and with honor. The differing homecomings, to him, were because of a basic reason: Vietnam was lost; World War II was won.
"You can walk here and see the honor the soldiers were given and see people lay flowers on the graves and see how grateful they are," he said sitting in an office at the World War II Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, where he tends the graves of 9,386 World War II soldiers, most of them killed during the landings on Normandy.
"I wonder," he said, "how many people will honor the soldiers from the Iraq war."
For people such as Rhodes, who went through a disastrous war, there is no way to honor those who fell in victory without thinking of those who died in defeat - and those fighting now in the Middle East where success has become difficult to define, let alone achieve.
Rhodes is aware of today's conflicts and is keenly aware of the diplomatic disputes between France and the United States.
But for him that is all subtext. If history has taught him anything, it is that while there can be honor bestowed upon the fallen, it can be slow in coming, if it comes at all.
"You walk through this cemetery, and you can feel the history, a sense of victory - as terrible as the cost was," Rhodes said. "This is where it happened. You can feel that when you walk. This is where the war was won. You go to the German cemeteries, and you know who lost the war."
There are six German cemeteries in the area, somber grounds that carry the weight of defeat. In the largest, La Cambe German Cemetery, 21,222 soldiers are commemorated.
"The war was wrong, but these were soldiers who gave their lives, so we try to keep things nice," said Lucien Tisserand, the French groundskeeper here. "In the German culture, all cemeteries are somber, but this one feels especially sad."
The American cemetery tended by Rhodes is a gleaming tribute to the lost victors, with 9,386 white crosses and stars of David, lined perfectly symmetrically.
Although there is no way to escape the reality of so many lost lives, the cemetery also carries an air of glory, of success despite death.
For Rhodes, the way the French visit the cemetery makes up, as much as possible, for what he missed as a returning soldier from Vietnam. But, again he pointed out, that may be because of how people are inclined to respond differently to victors, regardless of the bravery of those whose war was lost.
When Rhodes speaks of his war's time, he halts now and again to stop from crying. It almost works.
"Some people remember, and some people forget," he said. "To treat a soldier badly because you think the war was lost. - Let's change the subject."
He blinked quickly and cleared his throat, but his eyes still welled up.
"Let's talk about how people will treat our soldiers in Iraq," he said. "Soldiers don't get to pick their war. No matter how people feel about the war, tell them to treat the soldiers with respect."
And although he is 50, he also knows firsthand how the soldiers of World War II were treated far differently, with respect and with honor. The differing homecomings, to him, were because of a basic reason: Vietnam was lost; World War II was won.
"You can walk here and see the honor the soldiers were given and see people lay flowers on the graves and see how grateful they are," he said sitting in an office at the World War II Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, where he tends the graves of 9,386 World War II soldiers, most of them killed during the landings on Normandy.
"I wonder," he said, "how many people will honor the soldiers from the Iraq war."
For people such as Rhodes, who went through a disastrous war, there is no way to honor those who fell in victory without thinking of those who died in defeat - and those fighting now in the Middle East where success has become difficult to define, let alone achieve.
Rhodes is aware of today's conflicts and is keenly aware of the diplomatic disputes between France and the United States.
But for him that is all subtext. If history has taught him anything, it is that while there can be honor bestowed upon the fallen, it can be slow in coming, if it comes at all.
"You walk through this cemetery, and you can feel the history, a sense of victory - as terrible as the cost was," Rhodes said. "This is where it happened. You can feel that when you walk. This is where the war was won. You go to the German cemeteries, and you know who lost the war."
There are six German cemeteries in the area, somber grounds that carry the weight of defeat. In the largest, La Cambe German Cemetery, 21,222 soldiers are commemorated.
"The war was wrong, but these were soldiers who gave their lives, so we try to keep things nice," said Lucien Tisserand, the French groundskeeper here. "In the German culture, all cemeteries are somber, but this one feels especially sad."
The American cemetery tended by Rhodes is a gleaming tribute to the lost victors, with 9,386 white crosses and stars of David, lined perfectly symmetrically.
Although there is no way to escape the reality of so many lost lives, the cemetery also carries an air of glory, of success despite death.
For Rhodes, the way the French visit the cemetery makes up, as much as possible, for what he missed as a returning soldier from Vietnam. But, again he pointed out, that may be because of how people are inclined to respond differently to victors, regardless of the bravery of those whose war was lost.
When Rhodes speaks of his war's time, he halts now and again to stop from crying. It almost works.
"Some people remember, and some people forget," he said. "To treat a soldier badly because you think the war was lost. - Let's change the subject."
He blinked quickly and cleared his throat, but his eyes still welled up.
"Let's talk about how people will treat our soldiers in Iraq," he said. "Soldiers don't get to pick their war. No matter how people feel about the war, tell them to treat the soldiers with respect."
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