Thanks, Germany...

I remember this story! To get a personal account along with a picture was moving indeed. :salute:
 
This was a rather famous picture and certainly the gesture was magnanimous and given the timing very well appreciated.

Governments come and go, but the comraderie between military personnel in NATO tends to remain solid and personal.

Ken
 
BTW: this is the first I have heard of the name of the German destroyer. This marks a very interesting historical circle.

Our ship was named for Winston Churchill.

The German ship was named for Admiral Gunter Lutjens. He was the fleet admiral for the maiden voyage of the Bismark with escort from the Prince Eugen. He was killed when the main RN fleet engaged the crippled Bismark.

So, you have a USN ship named after former PM Winston Churchill, who himself ordered the sinking of the Bismark, which was under fleet command by the admiral and namesake for the German ship who rendered military honors immediately after the 9-11 attack.

The world is a small place! Sometimes, it reminds you how small it really is!

Ken
 
Wow, have to thrown in another historical item I did not before know.

This is extracted from Wikepedia:

In the 1960 film, Sink the Bismarck!, Lütjens is portrayed as egotistic, overconfident and a Nazi enthusiast angered over Germany's humiliation and his own lack of recognition at the end of World War I. In reality, Lütjens was pessimistic of the chance of success of Bismarck's mission and did not agree with Nazi policies; he was one of the few officers who refused to give the Nazi salute when Hitler visited Bismarck before its first and final mission, deliberately using instead the traditional naval salute<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-11>[12]</SUP>.
Lütjens also wore by choice the dirk of the Kaiserliche Marine, rather than the more modern Kriegsmarine dirk which bore a swastika. The film also makes a mistake in the sequence of events aboard Bismarck, showing Lütjens ordering Captain Ernst Lindemann to open fire on Hood and Prince of Wales. In the event, Lütjens actually ordered Lindemann to avoid engaging Hood, but Lindemann disobeyed and ordered the ship's gun crews to open fire on Hood and Prince of Wales.
Click to expand...

I always knew the German Navy fought with considerable honor during World War II. I did not know this important fact about Lutgen's career! I did know about the disagreement between Lindemann (captain of the Bismark) and Lutgens, with Lindemann snapping, "I shall not have my ship shot out from under my ass!" At which point Lutgens agreed to the engagement that resulted in the Hood's tragedy and Prince of Wales serious damage.

Ken
 
Roger that Ken. I noticed the name of the US ship, for Winston Churchill, and I thought that was interesting, in the contect of this story. I hadn't taken it further by investigating the name of the German ship...
 
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