This Is Just Sad...

From The UK Times via The Mudville Gazette.

Adam Sage in Saint Pierre de Varengeville-Duclair
The names “Thomas and Dorothy” were carved in the bark of one trunk. Another said “Bob and Carma”. Other trees were marked with soldiers’ home states - Iowa, Maine or Alabama - and several bore hearts and the names or initials of a wife or girlfriend.

The beech trees of Saint Pierre de Varengeville-Duclair forest bore a poignant testimony to the D-Day landings for more than six decades. Thousands of American soldiers stationed there after the liberation of Normandy spent their spare hours with a knife or bayonet creating a lasting reminder of their presence.

Although the trees grew and the graffiti swelled and twisted, this most peculiar memory of one of the 20th century’s defining moments remained visible - until now. Amid bureaucratic indifference and a dispute between officials and the forest owner, most of the trees have been felled, chopped up and turned into paper.

Many locals to their everlasting credit wanted to keep the trees...but local officials deemed the trees "unsafe" and ordered them to be chopped down. I bet those trees were safer than say an MG-42 or a PzKpfw IV...not that they care obviously.

...and time marches on.