From US News/AP:
“World War II Veterans Mark V-E
Day in Washington With Trump”
They stormed French beaches on
D-Day, helped liberate a concentration camp and fought in the Battle of the
Bulge. And seven elderly World War II veterans weren't about to let the
coronavirus pandemic keep them from marking the 75th anniversary of the end of
the war in Europe. Ranging in age from 96 to 100, the veterans held their
salute as President Donald Trump joined them in a commemoration at the World
War II Memorial on a blustery Friday morning. Steven Melnikoff, now 100, was an
infantryman whose Army unit was responsible for capturing more than 10,000
German soldiers. “It was a tough battle,” Melnikoff, who lives near Baltimore,
said by telephone after Friday's ceremony. Speaking of his unit, he said: “I
was with them constantly for 11 months, except the weeks and months that I
spent in the hospital.” He had been shot in the neck. Melnikoff said he wasn't
worried about traveling from Maryland during the pandemic to pay his respects
to all who were lost in the war, “that greatest generation.” “We used proper
protection,” he said. Trump kept his distance as he walked by the veterans,
including one in a wheelchair, who had lined up to greet him. Melnikoff said he
previously had met Trump at the White House. “I just said, ‘Nice to see you
again, Mr. President,’ and he acknowledged that,” Melnikoff said. The president
and first lady Melania Trump participated in a wreath-laying ceremony and
toured the memorial. They paused in front of a wall of stars with the phrase
“Here we mark the price of freedom,” before they returned to the White House.
Trump said the commemoration was
“windy and beautiful.”: White House
officials had described the veterans as “choosing nation over self" by
deciding to join Trump at the ceremony. “These heroes are living testaments to
the American spirit of perseverance and victory, especially in the midst of
dark days," said White House spokesman Judd Deere. Timothy Davis, director
of the Greatest Generations Foundation, which helps veterans return to the
countries where they fought, said the U.S. soldiers were originally scheduled
to travel to Moscow for a commemoration event. But with international travel
out of the question during the pandemic, Davis said they talked to him about trying
to commemorate the day in Washington. “Of course, we presented to them the risk
we are facing,” Davis said. “They said, ‘It doesn’t matter, Tim,’” and asked
him to press ahead, saying they viewed the commemoration as “a blessing to all
who fought, died and served in World War II.” Other veterans joining Trump were
Gregory Melikian, 97, of Phoenix, who sent the coded message to the world that
the Germans had unconditionally surrendered. Donald Halverson, 97, of
Minnesota, saw some of the war's fiercest fighting in Italy. John Coates, 96,
of Maryland, fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Jack Myers, 97, of Hagerstown,
Maryland, was part of a unit that liberated the Dachau concentration camp. Melnikoff;
Guy Whidden, 97, of Braddock Heights, Maryland; and Harold Angle, 97, of
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, participated in the D-Day invasion that turned the
tide in the war. Melnikoff described himself as striving toward new goals,
including golf. “My mission now that I'm 100 years old is to make sure many
young people know the story of what happened 75 years ago,” he said. “I want
the people to remember so this would never happen again.” He was also looking
ahead to a golf game on Saturday. Melnikoff plays three times a week and,
according to background provided by the White House, is scheduled to set a
world record in the summer as the oldest golfer to play on a course in
Scotland. “Golf is the greatest game, and you can play it till you're 100 years
old,” Melnikoff said.
^ This is one of the few things I
have seen done in the US to remember the 75th Anniversary of V-E
Day. While I believe this low-key ceremony was needed I don’t like that Trump,
his wife or anyone of the Veterans was wearing a mask (you can see it in the
picture.) I know Trump is trying to portray himself as invincible to Covid-19,
but the British Prime Minister tried doing that (when he made a point of gloating
that he went to a hospital and didn’t wear a mask and shortly afterwards he was
near-death in an ICU because of Covid-19. Americans should have done more to remember the sacrifice of the Greatest Generation today. ^
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