Historic ‘name trees’ bore thousands of carvings

[wrag]

Officials fell trees inscribed by US soldiers who fought for France

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4124354.ece

Sad IMHO but to tell you the truth I expected it..........................

[lasersailor184]

To be honest, I don't think that this is such a big deal.  People are making it a big deal because they think that other people think that it is a big deal.


We can't expect to never change everything that the soldiers ever came in contact with.  No one ever did anything to even try to protect these trees.  Suddenly the trees are being chopped down, and everyone has an issue with which to be offended?

[slipknot]

See Rules #4, #5

[lasersailor184]

See Rules #4, #5

Shall we hold every square foot of ground the Union Soldiers marched on untouchable?  The soldiers were everywhere.  You can't expect to hold holy every single thing any soldier has ever touched in the world.

It doesn't matter if it is us or the french doing the chopping.  No one cared until it was time for them to come down.  Then everyone had an issue to get in a huff about.


You think anyone cares about the trees?  They just want to be seen as righteous.

[Toad]

It's too bad but it's no big thing.

The trees would die sometime anyway. They should grab some of the carvings and stick them in the local WW2 museum the article talks about. Offer some to any museum that might want them.

As laser said, you can't save all of it. Heck, you can barely save any of it. What little of our history is in museums or saved as parks is a grain of sand on a beach.

[Gh0stFT]

$ <- counts more then History ?
well done

[Reschke]

Oh well time moves on and as we can already see those who forget/ignore the past are destined to repeat it.

[Dowding]

I agree with Toad - they should save the carvings and put them in a museum.

...and as we can already see those who forget/ignore the past are destined to repeat it.

And those that hold onto the past like a life-belt are missing the point. A balance needs to be struck. Alot of people on this board have an almost holy reverence for anything WW2 related - I'd definitely say that is also missing the point.

[Holden McGroin]

I'd definitely say that is also missing the point.

The point is that they were cutting down trees and that is always good.

[valad94]

yeah toad your right but it still isn't a big deal but i would want some carvings to be remembered as a symbol of what the boys had to go through with out having their loved ones with them or facing the fact that they will die in the war and never see them again, who knows maybe somebody carved something on a tree and then was killed the next day

they should keep some of the carvings to be remembered

[DREDIOCK]

Seems the owner of the trees didnt want to do it but the Gov and the pure economics of pruning all the trees vs cutting them down forced him into it.

Cant say as I can really blame him.

What he might have done. and what he still might at to consider doing is approaching these WWII organisations to see if anyof them want ot hoold fund raisers for the money to prune the trees as opposed to cutting them down.

[Maverick]

I would like some of the trees to be "saved" by either photographing them or keeping physical specimens. They were not permanent and never were intended to be anything other than a we were here. Like the article said many were already changed by the tree growth.

The best memorial to the allied troops who fought, is a free Europe. That's up to the ones who live there now to see that their sacrifices were not in vain.

[Bodhi]

The best memorial to the allied troops who fought, is a free Europe. That's up to the ones who live there now to see that their sacrifices were not in vain.

sadly, that battle is a losing one...

[Angus]

There would perhaps be a better market for the trees as collector's items rather than plain lumber?