WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th April, 2021) The United States and Russia should maintain those historical programs that educate and remind the young generations that both countries were allies during the World War II, US military veteran Frank Cohn told Sputnik on Friday.
"I think it is a good idea to continue to have programs reminding people that we were allies before we were estranged as well as that what passes in the present may not last and good will between the nations can again be re-established," Cohn said.
The veteran expressed regrets that many Americans, particularly young people, do not know the truth about World War II and the fact that the United States and Russia were partners at then.
"History has not taught very well," Cohn said.
However, Cohn pointed out that there are some exceptions, bright lights on the horizon.
"I visit a middle school yearly, where the history teacher celebrates World War II Day and invites veterans to tell their stories. However, there are so few veterans left that it has become diluted with stories about subsequent wars and veterans from those wars," Cohn, who is 95, said.
The retired colonel said he usually tells students about participating in the historic meeting of the US and Soviet troops at the Elbe River in Germany in April of 1945.
"When I tell my story, there is always a great interest and there are questions how we lost that alliance and then the Cold War gets into the discussion. But there is recognition that politics change and friends can become friends again," he said.
Cohn expressed his desire to continue participating in the ceremony at the Spirit of the Elbe memorial at the Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, DC, but he does not know whether the Russian embassy will be able to hold it this time because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Cohn recalled that in 1945, he did not understand why the Soviet soldiers greeted US troops with such joy.
"It took me time before realizing that the Russian side was celebrating their survival when they realized that no more Germans were in front of them and we were just the emissaries of the fact," he said. "Nevertheless, it was a wonderful reception, one that can't ever be forgotten."
Cohn became the first US soldier to participate in the Spirit of the Elbe memorial at the Arlington National Cemetery, held by the Russian Embassy since 1995. He wrote a letter to then Senator John Warner who helped form the US delegation for the event. Cohn was frequently invited to celebrate Victory Day in Moscow and in 2015 he attended the Red Square parade.
On April 25, 1945, Soviet and US troops met at the Elbe River near the town of Torgau in Germany. The meeting was a key milestone in the process of ending World War II and came about as US troops advanced from the west and Soviet troops advanced from the east, thus splitting Nazi Germany in two.
