Trees With G.I. Carvings Cut Down in Normandy

American Ranger: Trees With G.I. Carvings Cut Down in Normandy

The above link is to the 13 June 2008 Times article on the subject.

The trees before they were chopped down:



The trees after:



The website for the French town,Saint Pierre de Varengeville-Duclair, with photographs of said felled trees concludes: << Le temps est passé, l’histoire a tourné la page. >> "Time passes, and history turns the page."

Saint Pierre de Varengeville-Duclair was liberated by the Canadians on 30 August 1944, and the town has established a permanent marker in their honor:



so the citizens of the town may not have felt specifically obligated to the American troops who were only posted at their town's outskirts awaiting transport back to the US.

Additionally, while the average of European beech tree lifespan is listed as 900 years by Encyclopedia Britannica, it is more commonly listed as 100-125 years by most other online guides. Hence, rather than blaming French perfidy, the trees were reaching the end of their expected lifespans and would have eventually died due to natural causes.