US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday travelled to Normandy to commemorate the 82nd anniversary of the World War II D-Day landings.

But after making a speech at the American military cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, he conspicuously skipped afternoon’s main international ceremony marking the anniversary of the Allied landings, which helped herald the end of World War II.

His presence was not missed by some residents of the village hosting the ceremony, Langrune-sur-Mer, who said the US official was not welcome there.

“He has very warlike views and it seems to us that this man does not share our democratic values,” Sylvie Lamy Thepaut, a member of the municipal association Langrune en commun, told BFM TV.

  • BarqsHasBite@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    He has very war like views

    Someone pointed out he doesn’t call soldiers soldiers. He calls them war fighters. He’s on a crusade and sees them as fighters for his cause.

    • ragepaw@lemmy.ca
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      2 months ago

      Warfighter is a US military term.

      I believe the original intention was to avoid differentiating between a sailor, soldier, marine or airman. I think it was supposed to be a generic term.

      But he for sure thinks of them as crusaders in his fucking lunatic holy war.

        • ragepaw@lemmy.ca
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          2 months ago

          A service member covers everyone, a warfighter is in particular supposed to be for combat roles.

          • bthest@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Combat arms is a perfectly fine term that doesn’t ooze with larper pretentiousness.

      • a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        “War fighters” is something a functionally illiterate middle school child would come up with because the word “warrior” just doesn’t drive home the chud point.

        I believe the original term would have been soldiers or some shit.