I'd like to, instead, take issue with the facts of the "quote" that Keith uses - or misuses - that the French "didn't care enough" to resist the German invasion. 

Wheeler says himself "that may not be de Gaulle’s exact quote because I am reporting from memory".

Well Keith, as a "reporter", couldn't you have dug up something that is a little more "exact" and which could be referenced for context?

Did anyone ever say it at all - or is it just a nugget from your memory that might have just been said by someone, somewhere, sometime?

Charles De Gaulle fled France in 1940 and, from the relative safety of London and with the backing of the Brits, declared himself the "leader" of the French Resistance. Some "leader"!

De Gaulle was a politician first and foremost - never a fighter.

Thus, he faced the major insinuation, after the war, of being a coward. His claim that France's surrender was itself an act of cowardice should be seen in the light of his political strategy and personal defence: by running away, he promoted himself as a hero!

In hindsight, the French surrender probably saved millions of French lives, and as much as the "Vichy" government might be maligned, its very existence allowed for fifth columnists to prepare the way for the eventual Nazi defeat.

Charles de Gaulle, like any politician, bent the truth as much as it suited him. It's distressing when people like Keith Wheeler start believing such rubbish.

CONGRATULATIONS to Neill Overton for his excellent letter in reply to Keith Wheeler’s disgraceful column in Monday’s WDA.

I could not believe what I was reading and Neill has quite rightly put the article and it’s author to shame.

The Reserve Forces Day Council - Riverina (RFDC-R) will now begin focusing on the theme for the 2016 Reserve Forces Day Ceremony in June.

This will be the Western Front Campaign, in particular, the battle of Fromelles in July 1916, in which the Australian Infantry suffered 5533 casualties in 24 hours.

Throughout 1916/17, losses on the Western Front were heavy and gains were small.

The RFDC-R Committee will be honouring the descendants of this campaign at the ceremony in June.

WW1 Medallions and Western Front War Bars are available to descendants of servicemen who served and took part in this particular phase of the war.

For further information, contact John Ploenges on 6922 9766, or email reserveforcesdayriverina@gmail.com

The campaign against domestic violence is doomed to failure unless it includes the biggest single factor which is alcohol.

The Australian liquor industry has got a lot to answer for.

They market a dangerous drug but don’t sufficiently inform users of the consequences of overdosing on their product.   

We need a big public relations campaign, just as we had with tobacco, and in the campaign against drink-driving when random breath tests were introduced, to inform the public of the social consequences of the abuse of alcohol.