We just got back from our Spring Break trip. We didn't have much of a plan when we left, and as a result, didn't really ever know where we were going. Luckily, we rented a car with a gps and by day 3 Amber was able to get it to give directions in English.
We passed a graveyard and stopped. It turned out that it was from the Battle of the Rhine (WWII). Most of the soldiers were from the UK, but there were a couple of Americans, Polish, French, South Africans, and Indians (from India. Not real Indians).
There were a number of Americans in the RAF (Royal Air Force, i.e. England). As you may recall from your history class, WWII started well before the US entered the war, but small numbers of Americans either left the US military to join the UK military or signed up directly into the UK military prior to the US entering the war. So if you look carefully at the gravestone, you'll see the US flag, with the emblem of the RAF, not the US AAF (US Army Air Force). The US Air Force wasn't established as a separate branch of the US military until after WWII.
1 comment:
V. here...
Military Cemeteries in foreign lands with US soldiers are very emotional for me. It is heart stopping to think of the wars in other lands and the great sacrifices of our country's young men. How very respectful for them to put an
American flag on the gravesite.
I visited a military cemetary in the Phillipines and it was huge and Hawaii (which is now part of the US)V.
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