Melissa Banigan
Trump's Nationalism Kept Him From Honoring Fallen WWI American Soldiers in France
Exactly 100 years ago, at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, World War I ended as Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside CompiƩgne, France. The war left 9 million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded. Yesterday, Trump declined to go to a commemorative event to remember the lives of the soldiers who fell during the gristly Battle of Belleau Wood, which General Pershing said was the most important battle fought by American soldiers since the U.S. Civil War.

BELLEAU, France ā This weekend, President Trump is in France to take part in ceremonies that honor the sacrifice of American soldiers who died in World War I. Yet yesterday morning, he missed the first stop on his itinerary: a visit to Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, site of the Battle of Belleau Wood.
This past Memorial Day, I visited the cemetery, joining over 5,000 of peopleāincluding military officials from France, the United States and Germanyāto commemorate the centennial of the battle.
The battle, which was fought between the U.S. 2ndĀ and 3rdĀ Divisions and French and British forces against the Germans, was particularly brutal. Sergeant Dan Daly, a Marine, famously told his men as they charged the enemy: āCome on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?ā
Many of Dalyās men have gone on to live foreverāin our memory. There were nearly 10,000 American casualties at the Battle of Belleau, including 1,811 soldiers killed. Many of these men are buried at the cemetery where I stoodāthe same cemetery Trump neglected to visit yesterday.Ā
Although the United States and France commemorate the battle annually, this past Memorial Day marked the first year the Germans participated. Rather than focus on patriotism and national identity, high-ranking military officials from France, Germany and the United States spoke about the strength of their special relationship, rather than the military prowess of each of our countries.

After the ceremony, I spoke with Michael Knapp,Ā Director of Historical Services for the American Battle Monuments Commission, who said that World War I led to globalism, free trade, the vote for women and the emerging civil rights movement. Essentially, the war led to many of the things Americans take for granted today.
Knapp also reminded me that the war cemented the identities of many American immigrants who fought in the war as staunch U.S. citizens.Ā Close to half a million immigrants from 46 nationsāa whoppingĀ 18 percentĀ of American troopsāfought with our armed forces. They not only served their new country, but many of them are buried at the American cemeteries in France or were lost in battle, their bodies devoured by a second new homeland.
These immigrantsāAmericansāare some of the soldiers Trump dismissed.

Of course, Trump cited bad weather and a grounded helicopter as the reasons for skipping out on the ceremony. Winston Churchillās grandson, Nicholas Burns, wasnāt buying it. HeĀ tweeted:
They died with their face to the foe and that pathetic inadequate @realDonaldTrump couldnāt even defy the weather to pay his respects to The Fallen #hesnotfittorepresenthisgreatcountry
Given his hateful rhetoric about immigrants and his recent affirmation of his own nationalism, I canāt help but feel how much of a fish out of water Trump wouldāve been at a commemorative event to cement friendship.
Still, it's a new low. After all, itās not like Trump would've had to work very hard to trek to the cemetery. No one, not even a U.S. president, needs a helicopter to get to Belleau Wood, just 55 miles away from Paris. Despite being a windy, drizzly day in northern France, other world leaders simply climbed into vehicles and set out into the mist for various World War I sites across northern France.
President Macron and Chancellor Merkel, for example, cozied up together at the replica of the train car where the Armistice was signed in the forest of CompiĆØgne, and Prime Minister Trudeau made his way to the Canadian Cemetery No. 2, where he clutched a red chrysanthemum and braved the wind as he walked among the white gravestones. Along the way, these leadersāparticularly Macronādrove home the idea that we must be vigilant againstĀ nationalism. In fact, today, at an event at the Arc de Triomphe, Macron reiterated his stance by taking a hard stab at Trump:
"Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By saying our interests first, who cares about the others, we erase what a nation holds dearest...I know there are old demons which are coming back to the surface...History sometimes threatens to take its sinister course once again."

Trump's tone deafness shouldn't surprise us. After all, he's not particularly adept at hearing messages uttered by the rest of the free world. This past April, Macron traveled to the United States and gifted our country an oak sapling from Belleau Wood as a "reminder at the White House of [the] ties that bind us."
This gift was a deeply symbolic gesture. The Battle of Belleau was the first major foray U.S. troops made into World War I. Our nation's involvement helped win the battle, and our blood, soaked into the soil at Belleau, bound us forever to our allies in Europe.
The sapling was understood by many as an affirmation of friendship, yet it was also a not-so-subtle reminder from one of our biggest allies that we are only as strong as our commitment to each other, and that we must stand firm against each other's extremism, nationalism, isolationism, tribalism.
This past May, just minutes before I left my hotel for Ainse-Marne American Cemetery, I ran into Jerry L. Hester, a commissioner of The U.S. World War One Centennial Commission (honorary chairs include many presidents: Carter, both Bushes, Clinton, and Obama).
Hester, a former U.S. Air Force Officer who fought in World War II, has been interested in World War I history since he was a young child. He spent the last five years planning to be at the Memorial Day event. He told me: "I want children to remember what happened here. I want it to be taught in schools. Washington D.C. doesn't remember it very wellāthey don't even have a World War I memorial."

After the Memorial Day event, I spoke with Ronal Morales, Rank Master Gunnery Sargent, who said: āItās really important to be here to remember what the allies did to secure freedom and peace. Itās crucial that all allies be united so that we can defeat global threats.ā
Trump keeps showing usātime and time againāthat he never got the memo.

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Below is a video of a reading of letters written by Edward B. Cole, a soldier who fell during the Battle of Belleau Wood: