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Entry: The Good War: A Cautionary Tale Link: http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/the_good_war_a_cautionary_tale#29137 Post contents: Any praise of de Valera must be tempered by what a louse he was. The SOB did not care for lives of Americans. We forget the behavior of the majority of the Iriah too easily during WWII. From something I have written: "One of the survivors of the 1916 Irish uprising against the British was New York born Edward de Valera. Tenuous claim to American citizenship saved de Valera from execution after his arrest in 1916. Born in New York in 1882 of a Spanish father and an Irish mother, young de Valera was sent to live in Ireland after his father died. Once there he adopted the Gaelic Eamon to replace Edward. A cynic might question his mother's motives in sending the boy back. After remarrying, she never had her son sent back. She was to die in the United States in 1932. Was this unkindness and abandonment by his mother the root of de Valera's attitude toward the United States? The confusion of not having love within the family and the substitution of teary-eyed love of country, meaning Ireland, has passed through Irish-American families for generations. In late January of 1942 American troops landed in Northern Ireland. Coming so soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, this was not an unexpected development. de Valera blasted the American action as meaning recognition of the "Quisling government" in Belfast and support for partition. The needs of the United States were of no, or very small, consideration to de Valera. Yet, the opening of the sea lanes by American and British naval forces enabled Eire to feed itself during the war years..." "Not surprisingly some Irish-Americans continued to place concerns for Ireland above those for the United States. Writing in the Boston Sunday Globe of March 1, 1942, Joseph A. Conry, former member of the House of Representatives, reviewed his efforts to drum up support for the war. In the Globe in February of 1941 Mr. Conry had advocated annexation of Ireland by the United States as a protective act. This projected benevolence was not well received, but rejection did not deter Mr. Conry as he wanted independent Eire under de Valera to furnish three ports for use by American forces. Making an obligatory reference to de Valera as a "great, big-hearted man", Mr. Conry opined de Valera's love for a united Ireland had clouded his judgment to the importance of the war..." "Mr. Conry noted that de Valera had no hesitation in taking part in American domestic politics when it suited his purposes. When General Frank Aiken came to the United States in April 1941, he boldly stated his purpose was to get armaments from the American people through their government to defend Ireland. Mr. Aiken (as he was then known) later was accused of Nazi sympathies as Minister in charge of censorship in 1945 by a deputy in the Irish parliament, but was defended by de Valera..." "de Valera on the death of Hitler went to the German Legation and expressed condolences to the German Minister. For this he was roundly criticized, but George Bernard Shaw in his own manner congratulated him. Shaw thought the actions of the Irish gentleman and Spanish grandee when he threatened to preserve Irish independence by fighting all invaders to include England, Germany and the United States with his 40,000 man army proved his Christian chivalry which many pretend to admire. His noble heart must be recognized even if his worldly wisdom would be questioned..." "When the Allied victory was announced in Dublin, bitter street fights with police fighting rioters lasted for three days. Initially the disturbances were confined to those who thought Ireland should have fought in the war and those who thought she should not have fought. An Irish newspaper, the Sunday Independent, maintained government censors prevented publication of an article praising American General George Patton, but did permit the publishing of one praising Field Marshal Erwin Rommel..." "This attitude by the Taoiseach was not without support in the United States. On Memorial Day of 1945, just three weeks and a day after the war in Europe ended, the Kings County Board of the Ancient Order of Hibernians announced the resolution it had adopted at the Knights of Columbus Institute in Brooklyn. This resolution upheld the neutrality of Eire during the war: "This neutral position saved the lives of men, women and children of the Irish nation". Further affirmed was that neutrality had been maintained by virtue of the great courage, intelligence and sincere Christian desire for peace of the Irish people". Almost fifty years later that the hyphenated Irish of America would condone the treacherous neutrality of the government of the old country while not remembering the dead of America still rankles..." Sent at: 2009 01 08