I made an audio recording of the entire ceremony (I recommend the speech by the US Embassy representative from 34:35 min.), a PHOTOGALLERY and the video below. The veterans were admirable. The way they spoke and the way they laid wreaths spoke to everyone present. Their speeches were the shortest, they said the most! Missing for the first time was the best speaker yet, US Veteran Earl Ingram. Surely, even today, he would have said what he needed to in his distinctive, appealing and memorable way that speaks to most. Today, we must fight our battles without him and continue to fight them in the name of his memory and legacy if we are to be worthy of the memory and legacy of American soldiers.
Compared with previous years, I was surprised by the small number of US flags on buildings. Politicians can't make speeches, they don't address, few can talk back, the speeches are boring, repeating the same, with no effective address for today and the future. The wreath for the US was accompanied by four men and one woman - the most. The CT events provided only a few seconds with a few sentences extracted from the speeches and a demonstration of how to eat the American stew... It was rather sad when the former mayor of Pilsen and today's Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic, did not stay standing with the others until the wreath-laying ceremony was over, smiling, greeting and gesticulating with acquaintances behind the barrier. On the positive side, although I was not registered in advance as a journalist, I was allowed in without any checking and could thus take exclusive shots and photographs. J.Š.
***
Plzeň 8 May 2022: Convoy of Liberty
Read more...