At a time when our president and other politicians tend to apologize for our country's prior actions, here's a refresher on how some of our former patriots handled negative comments about our country:
JFK'S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60's when DeGaulle decided to pull out of NATO. DeGaulle said he wanted all of the US military out of France as soon as possible.
Rusk responded, "Does that include those who are buried here?"
DeGaulle did not respond.
Rusk responded, "Does that include those who are buried here?"
DeGaulle did not respond.
... you could have heard a pin drop.
When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just another example of empire building by George Bush.
Mr. Powell answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return."
... you could have heard a pin drop.
There was a conference in France, where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American engineers. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying, "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intend to do, bomb them?"
A Boeing engineer stood up and quietly replied: "Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear-powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day; they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day; and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and the injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?"
... you could have heard a pin drop.
A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Naval Admirals from the U.S., England, Canada, Australia and France. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, "Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?"
Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, "Maybe it's because the Brit's, Canadians, Aussie's and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German."
... you could have heard a pin drop.
When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just another example of empire building by George Bush.
Mr. Powell answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return."
... you could have heard a pin drop.
There was a conference in France, where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American engineers. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying, "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intend to do, bomb them?"
A Boeing engineer stood up and quietly replied: "Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear-powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day; they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day; and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and the injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?"
... you could have heard a pin drop.
A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Naval Admirals from the U.S., England, Canada, Australia and France. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, "Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?"
Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, "Maybe it's because the Brit's, Canadians, Aussie's and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German."
... you could have heard a pin drop.
Proud to be an American! ~CJ
“I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do. And by the grace of God, I will.” ~Everett Hale
“I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do. And by the grace of God, I will.” ~Everett Hale
From Facebook:
ReplyDeleteClap, Clap, Clap, Clap !! A little " Yankee Ingenuity" in the Ultimate Comeback !!!
Jan Hoffman
From Facebook:
ReplyDeleteAnd what a message it sends.....God Bless America!
Dave Cullison
Indeed!
ReplyDeleteCJ
From Facebook:
ReplyDeleteCJ, I hope its ok to share these with my other FB friends, Thank-you so much for sharing all you do.
Dave Cullison
Thank you, Dave, for reading and sharing.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
CJ