Canadian Pelicans; Do you Hate the Soviets?

[RNajarian]

I know weird title, let me explain.

During a Memorial Day Ceremony this year in my local town a group of four old WW2 vets who fought with the Soviet Union showed up in their Soviet uniforms to pay respect to the fallen US servicemen.

As a Lieutenant Colonel in the USAF and as a veteran of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, I was appreciative of the gesture of these four old men paying respect to my brothers and sisters.

HOWEVER, a local woman who is a Canadian Ex-patriot is FURIOUS. I mean FURIOUS. She went to the City Council Meeting the next day and expressed here displeasure quite vocally.

*She Claimed the Soviets WERE NOT a part of the Allied Powers. (Which they in fact were)

*She Claimed the Soviets attacked and killed Canadians prior to the USSR joining the allies.

*She Claimed the Soviets took her brother (and other Canadians) prisoner during the war.

I was able to talk with her yesterday and when I corrected her that the "Big Three" powers in the Allies were Roosevelt (USA), Churchill (UK), and Stalin (USSR), she was adamant that the Soviets were not our allies. She is NOT senile, so I don't want to write it off as her being an old coot.

I was wondering if the Canadian Pelicans could perhaps shed some light on this issue.

Thanks

[notfarnow]

If there's an undercurrent of Canadian resentment towards the Soviets, this is the first I've heard of it.

Sounds like a personal issue, not a national one.

We only hate the swiss.

[MRM]

She is correct on all points except that the Russians were part of the Allied Countries. You can do some quick research on the USSR's activity before and after the pact with Germany and after Germany attacked them. The Soviets were Allies but both before and after joining our side they did some bad things to Allied troops and civilians.

There are a number of Poles who were in prison or concentration camps under both the Soviets and Germans. There are many allied service men who were taken prisoner by the Soviets. Many if not most never returned. A lot of unexplained disapearances happened in Berlin in the spring of 1945. A guy named Raul Wallenburg survived the Nazis in Hungary where he spent his time saving tens of thousands of Jews until he was "liberated" by the Soviets in 1945. Supposedly he was executed in about 1947. I hope he was and that he didn't suffer in the Gulag unti 1991. The Soviets were neutral in the war with Japan, so lots of US flyers in the Pacific were captures and interned by the Soviets.

Look up Raul Wallenburg and do a little research on Soviet caputuring and attacking other Allies and you'll see what she meant.

[1990C4S]

If they had hockey equipment on, yes.

If not, no.

Sounds like one crazy Lady. Even if they weren't part of the Allied Powers, they went to pay their respects. Why would she care?

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by notfarnow

If there's an undercurrent of Canadian resentment towards the Soviets, this is the first I've heard of it.

Sounds like a personal issue...

+1000

We don't hate anybody.

Some of my best "Drinkex" from my Navy days, were in Kiel Germany, with old timers. They did not hate us even though the Allied totally bomb out hte town.

Definitely sound like a personal issue...

[Rick Lee]

You could fill libraries with accounts of Soviet bad behavior. That doesn't mean four WWII vets showing up on Mem. Day should be such a national outrage. No country lost more people in the war than did the USSR and they have plenty to proud of. In Russian they don't call it "World War II." They call it the "Great Patriotic War." I just don't see anything wrong with WWII vets paying respects to other comrades in arms. Plenty of Germand Japanese WWII vets attend events with Allied vets around the world too.

[Rick Lee]

BTW, I was running the Army 10 Miler a few years ago when NATO was having its 50th anniv. in DC. The city was pretty much shut down for security, but they let the race go on, which was kind of cool. I remember running by a hotel across from the Watergate and seeing a Russian general in uniform standing out front, waiting for his ride. It was quite a sight to see that in DC.

[RNajarian]

We shared a runway with the Canadians when I was in the United Arab Emerites. Our camps were pretty close together, the Canadians were supporting Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (Afghanistan) and we were supporting both Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and ENDURING FREEDOM. We spent a lot of time with our neighbors, in fact I got to celebrate Canada Day with some smuggled Canadian beer.

Ahhh good times.

The lady is good intentioned but I think her hatred is getting the best of her. Unfortunately she is quite emotional and vocal so she can create quite a scene. I knew I was going to get no where with her when I tried to correct her about the USSR being in the Allies.

Maybe she needs some of that good Canadian beer.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by RNajarian

I know weird title, let me explain.

During a Memorial Day Ceremony this year in my local town a group of four old WW2 vets who fought with the Soviet Union showed up in their Soviet uniforms to pay respect to the fallen US servicemen.

As a Lieutenant Colonel in the USAF and as a veteran of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, I was appreciative of the gesture of these four old men paying respect to my brothers and sisters.

HOWEVER, a local woman who is a Canadian Ex-patriot is FURIOUS. I mean FURIOUS. She went to the City Council Meeting the next day and expressed here displeasure quite vocally.

*She Claimed the Soviets WERE NOT a part of the Allied Powers. (Which they in fact were)

*She Claimed the Soviets attacked and killed Canadians prior to the USSR joining the allies.

*She Claimed the Soviets took her brother (and other Canadians) prisoner during the war.

I was able to talk with her yesterday and when I corrected her that the "Big Three" powers in the Allies were Roosevelt (USA), Churchill (UK), and Stalin (USSR), she was adamant that the Soviets were not our allies. She is NOT senile, so I don't want to write it off as her being an old coot.

I was wondering if the Canadian Pelicans could perhaps shed some light on this issue.

Thanks

If i saw anyone in a Soviet uniform it would definitely fill me with memories of screaming "Die Commie Die!" during bayonet practice, lo those many years ago.

I hate communists, even to this day.

And seriously, no, the Soviets were NEVER our allies. They were a marriage of convenience only, not true allies in any sense of the word.

I would be highly uncomfortable seeing Soviet Soldiers in ANY kind of an American parade or event.

Originally Posted by RNajarian

We shared a runway with the Canadians when I was in the United Arab Emerites. Our camps were pretty close together, the Canadians were supporting Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (Afghanistan) and we were supporting both Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and ENDURING FREEDOM. We spent a lot of time with our neighbors, in fact I got to celebrate Canada Day with some smuggled Canadian beer.

Ahhh good times.

The lady is good intentioned but I think her hatred is getting the best of her. Unfortunately she is quite emotional and vocal so she can create quite a scene. I knew I was going to get no where with her when I tried to correct her about the USSR being in the Allies.

Maybe she needs some of that good Canadian beer.

Maybe they killed some of her relatives.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by RNajarian

... Maybe she needs some of that good Canadian beer.

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by notfarnow

We only hate the swiss.

Word.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by Dottore

Word.

fkin yodelers!

[ZOO]

We only hated them when we played for medals . . .

And even then, not that much.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by ZOOMiata

We only hated them when we played for medals . . .

And even then, not that much.

I remember the NHL playing the Soviets in the 70s was a VERY VERY BIG DEAL to both Americans and Canadians.

When the Philadelphia Flyers, aka the "Broad Street Bullies" beat (the living snot out of) the Red Army team after the commies had swept all the old guard Canadian NHL teams, North America erupted in jubilant celebration.

It seemed to mean something to tens upon tens of millions of Americans and Canadians then.

It still means something to me. I still cannot stand Commies, or what the SU represented. I despise the Detroit Red Wings because they remind me of the stinking commie bastage Russkies.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

I I still cannot stand Commies,

What makes you think four Russian WWII vets are commies in any way? They were conscripted young men sent to fight an invader. Fleeing to Canada wasn't a choice. What would you have done? Gone to the gulag or let them shoot you instead of fighting the Germans?

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

I remember the NHL playing the Soviets in the 70s was a VERY VERY BIG DEAL to both Americans and Canadians.

When the Philadelphia Flyers, aka the "Broad Street Bullies"...

[RNajarian]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

What makes you think four Russian WWII vets are commies in any way? They were conscripted young men sent to fight an invader. Fleeing to Canada wasn't a choice. What would you have done? Gone to the gulag or let them shoot you instead of fighting the Germans?

Actually Rick you hit the nail on the head. The four vets who came to the Memorial Day Ceremony were sent to Siberia after the war. Most of their friends died in the work camps.

In fact, they were Armenians who were drafted into the Soviet Army so they did not have much of a choice.

I appreciate their attendance, historians say 10% of the Russian population were killed in WW2. The Nazis did quite a number on their country.

[sammyg2]

Ummm, I kinda had this notion that during WWII, they were RUSSIANS.
The SOVIET UNION (USSR) a was formed after the end of WWII, right?

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Ummm, I kinda had this notion that during WWII, they were RUSSIANS.
The SOVIET UNION (USSR) a was formed after the end of WWII, right?

I know you know better than this. USSR was formed long before WWII.

[Jim Richards]

USSR: 1922 to 1991