D-Day!

[C-2]

I watched all day long ,at CNN,the festivities in Normandie.
My soul was full of happiness and admiration to those guys!
They know how to treat their herous,dead and alive as well!
Seeing those old guys,in their 80's,well dressed ,well fed,well taken care of...Holding in their hands their flags....
Wearing with pride their uniforms,their medals and badges.
The Scots with heir traditional KIlts...
Ten years ago it's was also great,but this time much greater preparations.
On the other hand,I'm full os sadness,when I'm thinkind about "My"veterans,who are almost starving.Who cannot aford buying new clouths or medicine.
A friend of mine,a hight ranking oficer,decorated with the highest Romanian award,needed some time ago,an eye operation.He could pay for it,but not for the "spare parts".He needed 4 months of diferent "birocraties"in order to get them by free....
Another vet,cannot aford buying a hearing aparatus(for less than 100$).
Last year,a few old aviation veterans came as they do year after year ,at the aviation day,to the pilots monument in Bucharest,to pay their respect to their fallen camarades.
The police didn't even diverted the trafic :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
They had to get to the monument(that is efectivly in the midlle of the road)
between speeding cars :evil: :evil:
They do stop and divert the trafic in that area ,a few times a day ,when an impotent ,thief,half analfabet politician or other" important" person is passsing by :mad:
That's the problem with the people in this country,they don't know what priority meens!
Talking about "a memorial" for the deads in Russia,when the live ones are in trouble :?

[mabadesc]

QUOTE

Seeing those old guys,in their 80's,well dressed ,well fed,well taken care of...Holding in their hands their flags....

C-2, it's a shame that Romanian veterans are treated so poorly and live in poverty. It should definitely be rectified....

But you should know that Western European and US veterans (which you describe in your quote above) do not receive any special treatment or benefits, either.

The fact that they are well-dressed and well-fed relates strictly to the general standard of living of the countries in which they live.

So you would not be correct, IMO, to assume that they are well taken care of because they are veterans. They are treated just like everyone else.

For instance, in the US there are plenty of veterans who lead a very modest, sometimes poor life. Some of them end up in state-run nursing homes (azil de batrini), etc...

The only benefit that I know for certain they enjoy is free hospitalization in special "Veteran Hospitals" which are sponsored by the government (there usually is one such hospital in each major city).

[mabadesc]

I recently read that the D-Day Normandy invasion included a contingent of.....178 "Free"' French soldiers. Is that really correct?

And yet in all the posters/signs/books where the D-Day invasion participants are mentioned, the French flag is proudly displayed next to the US, UK, Canadian, and Australian flags.

[Victor]

Yes, it is correct. It was a marine commando, IIRC. The bulk of the Free French forces landed in southern France the same month.

[mabadesc]

QUOTE

The bulk of the Free French forces landed in southern France the same month.

Thanks for the confirmation, Victor.

Did they encounter the same type of resistance when they landed in Southern France or was it a "peaceful" process of getting off the boat and hopping into transport trucks?

[C-2]

A veteran's hospital would be all those guys are needed!
But we don't have one proper hospital in all Romania.!!!!
I don't know about the uS,but in Germany vets have many benefits.

[C-2]

When Canadian soldiers came in contact with the French citizens,those thought they were British soldiers who had been touth French(because of their owful accent)