B
byuill
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Talk about a complete moron.
Check this out:
PM hurries by war graves
Chré'©en strides past Canadian tombstones in Germany; premiers make time to pause
By SHAWN MCCARTHY
Thursday, February 21, 2002 ? Print Edition, Page A1
MUNICH -- At a site that evoked reverence and reflection among the premiers, Prime Minister Jean Chré'©en appeared
impatient to move on to the next stop on his Team Canada tour of Germany.
Mr. Chré'©en paid his respects to Canada's war dead yesterday, but he hurried out of the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery
in Durnbach with barely a glance at the names on the tombstones marked by small Canadian flags.
The premiers accompanying Mr. Chré'©en snatched time to pause at well-maintained graves of Commonwealth fliers and
pronounced themselves profoundly moved.
The cemetery, set in rolling farmland near the Bavarian Alps, contains the remains of 2,468 Allied servicemen killed during the
Second World War, including 483 Canadians shot down over Germany.
The Prime Minister and the premiers visited the cemetery during a stop in Munich for a Team Canada trade and investment
mission.
On a grey, damp, chilly morning, Mr. Chré'©en and the premiers laid wreathes at a cenotaph amid the shrill blare of bagpipes.
Bavarian Science Minister Hans Zehetmaier also laid a wreath.
When the ceremony was over, the Prime Minister turned to go but was encouraged by a photographer to walk among the
gravestones. Off he strode, taking two minutes to walk the rows, slowing once, for the slightest moment.
Then he was out the gate and off to meet the President of the Bavarian Parliament, Johann Boehm, the next stop on what has
been a whirlwind tour of business meetings, photo opportunities and sessions with senior political leaders.
Ontario Premier Mike Harris, accompanied by a photographer, arrived ahead of the official delegation and laid wreathes at the
tombs of three airmen from North Bay. His aides said he intends to send the pictures to family members, some of whom live in
Ontario.
"The three airmen were 19, 20 and 26," Mr. Harris said. "I have a son who turned 17 yesterday, and that's getting pretty close to
this age. It is very emotional for me, as is what they went through and the freedoms that we enjoy."
The three North Bay dead are Daryl Owens McMahon, Edward Peverly and Lindsay Wilkie Webster.
Mr. Chré'©en said he felt he had paid his respects during the rushed visit through the cemetery. "You know, I visited a certain
number of tombs and I paid my respects." He noted that Mr. Harris had visited the gravesites of men whose families had lived in
his riding.
"There was no indication that there was anybody [from Shawinigan] -- I looked at the names."
Mr. Chré'©en suggested it was difficult to stop for a reflective moment when he was leading a large delegation of premiers,
German hosts and officials. Had he stopped as he strolled up one row and down another, he might have read: Pilot Officer, W. J.
Hope, Air Gunner, Royal Canadian Air Force, 26 August 1944, Age 20. Beloved son Fred. K. Hope and Vera M. Norman, Born
Perth, Ontario, Canada, November 9, 1923.
Or he might have noticed the granite slab dedicated to Flight Sergeant R. J. O'Reilly, age 18 when he was shot down on March
16, 1945.
The premiers -- many of whom were making their first official visits to European military cemeteries -- were clearly moved by
the rows of tombstones. Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert said that his father had been sent to Germany during the war.
"It was for me, then, an emotional experience, thinking about my father -- not killed -- survived, came home," Mr. Calvert said.
"But that he might have shared one of those graves was very real to me.
"And when you think of the number of Canadian flags of a similar nature that are scattered about Europe, and indeed, across the
world, one understands the role our nation, our people have played."
Manitoba Premier Gary Doer said the graves of boys from towns close to where he grew up brought home the tragedy. "These
were kids that would have probably, for many of us, been known to our family members, probably danced with my mother in
Neepawa."
Check this out:
PM hurries by war graves
Chré'©en strides past Canadian tombstones in Germany; premiers make time to pause
By SHAWN MCCARTHY
Thursday, February 21, 2002 ? Print Edition, Page A1
MUNICH -- At a site that evoked reverence and reflection among the premiers, Prime Minister Jean Chré'©en appeared
impatient to move on to the next stop on his Team Canada tour of Germany.
Mr. Chré'©en paid his respects to Canada's war dead yesterday, but he hurried out of the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery
in Durnbach with barely a glance at the names on the tombstones marked by small Canadian flags.
The premiers accompanying Mr. Chré'©en snatched time to pause at well-maintained graves of Commonwealth fliers and
pronounced themselves profoundly moved.
The cemetery, set in rolling farmland near the Bavarian Alps, contains the remains of 2,468 Allied servicemen killed during the
Second World War, including 483 Canadians shot down over Germany.
The Prime Minister and the premiers visited the cemetery during a stop in Munich for a Team Canada trade and investment
mission.
On a grey, damp, chilly morning, Mr. Chré'©en and the premiers laid wreathes at a cenotaph amid the shrill blare of bagpipes.
Bavarian Science Minister Hans Zehetmaier also laid a wreath.
When the ceremony was over, the Prime Minister turned to go but was encouraged by a photographer to walk among the
gravestones. Off he strode, taking two minutes to walk the rows, slowing once, for the slightest moment.
Then he was out the gate and off to meet the President of the Bavarian Parliament, Johann Boehm, the next stop on what has
been a whirlwind tour of business meetings, photo opportunities and sessions with senior political leaders.
Ontario Premier Mike Harris, accompanied by a photographer, arrived ahead of the official delegation and laid wreathes at the
tombs of three airmen from North Bay. His aides said he intends to send the pictures to family members, some of whom live in
Ontario.
"The three airmen were 19, 20 and 26," Mr. Harris said. "I have a son who turned 17 yesterday, and that's getting pretty close to
this age. It is very emotional for me, as is what they went through and the freedoms that we enjoy."
The three North Bay dead are Daryl Owens McMahon, Edward Peverly and Lindsay Wilkie Webster.
Mr. Chré'©en said he felt he had paid his respects during the rushed visit through the cemetery. "You know, I visited a certain
number of tombs and I paid my respects." He noted that Mr. Harris had visited the gravesites of men whose families had lived in
his riding.
"There was no indication that there was anybody [from Shawinigan] -- I looked at the names."
Mr. Chré'©en suggested it was difficult to stop for a reflective moment when he was leading a large delegation of premiers,
German hosts and officials. Had he stopped as he strolled up one row and down another, he might have read: Pilot Officer, W. J.
Hope, Air Gunner, Royal Canadian Air Force, 26 August 1944, Age 20. Beloved son Fred. K. Hope and Vera M. Norman, Born
Perth, Ontario, Canada, November 9, 1923.
Or he might have noticed the granite slab dedicated to Flight Sergeant R. J. O'Reilly, age 18 when he was shot down on March
16, 1945.
The premiers -- many of whom were making their first official visits to European military cemeteries -- were clearly moved by
the rows of tombstones. Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert said that his father had been sent to Germany during the war.
"It was for me, then, an emotional experience, thinking about my father -- not killed -- survived, came home," Mr. Calvert said.
"But that he might have shared one of those graves was very real to me.
"And when you think of the number of Canadian flags of a similar nature that are scattered about Europe, and indeed, across the
world, one understands the role our nation, our people have played."
Manitoba Premier Gary Doer said the graves of boys from towns close to where he grew up brought home the tragedy. "These
were kids that would have probably, for many of us, been known to our family members, probably danced with my mother in
Neepawa."
