PrintJune 7, 2010
Yet Another Stalin Sighting
Just two weeks ago I wrote about the disturbing renaissance of history's greatest mass murders (Hitler, Mao and Stalin). The unveiling of a monument to Stalin in Ukraine and the display of Stalin posters in Red Square during this year's WWII victory celebration were disturbing, as they are a reminder that there are still those in Russia and Ukraine who have an attachment to the former dictator. I took comfort in the fact that even under the Obama regime there were no tributes to Stalin in America.
This weekend we honored the brave men who fought and died in the cause of freedom on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Meanwhile in Virginia, the Lynchburg News & Advance tells us that.
A bust of dictator Joseph Stalin has been placed at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford despite public protest over its presence.The sculpture was installed at the memorial Tuesday, said William McIntosh, president of the memorial foundation.[...]Annie Pollard, a Bedford County Supervisor who has volunteered at the memorial, said Wednesday it has been a source of controversy in Bedford and she feels its presence is "a slap in the face to all these other people we honor and remember.""I just don't think it belongs on the hill with them," Pollard [said]. "To me, he (Stalin) is just a murderer. I just can't see how he fits in with the memorial. They are people we want to remember. He's someone I'd rather forget."Members of Bedford's American Legion Post have written letters in protest and have met with Mr. McIntosh, but to no avail. McIntosh has said that the bust is in recognition of Stalin's role in the defeat of Nazi Germany and as such it deserves to be part of the memorial.
I can only wonder what my great uncle John would think about the Stalin bust. John Lee enlisted in the US Army after Pearl Harbor, served with distinction in the European theatre and on June 6, 1944 he fought with his unit at Omaha Beach. John survived the war and chose a career in the Army. During the Korean War, John faced the Soviet armed North Korean Army at Pork Chop Hill. John Lee passed away several years ago, well before the nation that he loved and faithfully served had veered so dangerously far to the left.
For the time being Joe Stalin is memorialized in bronze at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford Virginia. Maybe it's just me, but a bust of Stalin in Virginia is every bit as offensive as the Mao ornament on one of last year's White House Christmas Trees and almost as offensive as Helen Thomas' anti-Semitic rant at this year's Jewish Heritage Celebration! What has happened to our country?
