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The International teleconference “Meeting on the Elbe 75”, organized by the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly on April 24, 2020, was attended by Brigadier General Kevin Ryan (US Army retired). He is a descendant of a participant in the historical events that took place on the Elbe 75 years ago.
“When American and Soviet troops reached Torgau on April 25, 1945, - Kevin Ryan said, - the bridge over the Elbe was already destroyed by German soldiers. By then, the bridge was a twisted mass of steel and wood, half submerged in the river. Lieutenant Bill Robertson and Sergeant Frank Huff made their way across the destroyed bridge to meet Sergeant Nikolai Andreev in the middle of the river. It was a risky business for all three of them. They could easily slip and fall into the river that was rushing beneath them. They would probably all have drowned in this submerged twisted steel.
Today, a new US - Russian group is trying to maintain ties between the US and Russia, even when the bridges between us are damaged. The Elba group consists of American and Russian generals who served in the military and intelligence agencies before going into reserve. Our goal is to maintain an open channel of communication between the two sides and discuss the most pressing issues that arise between us. It is not our task to agree with each other in everything. Moreover, we often disagree with each other. But we speak to each other openly, honestly and respectfully. This respect for each other has accumulated over ten years of our meetings.
Seventy years ago, our fathers fought together against a common enemy. Today we need not only brave men like our fathers who are ready to protect our peoples. We also need brave leaders who can climb a broken bridge to avoid shooting at each other. We know for sure that such guys exist. And we hope that we also have such leaders.”
All news on the topic is on the project page: International teleconference to the 75th anniversary of the meeting on the Elbe