If you see the insignia at the Message Board, that one is from the Middle East, and at the bottom (although you can not really see it [I will try to Photoshop it to make it noticible] it does say Middle East).

[Here is the image and if look in the bottom it says "Far East"]

I will look into it, and probably post it here soon.

Thanks

Rivenburg “Supporters”:

The following have been cited by Roy Rivenburg as “supporters” of his published assertions, pre- and posthumously, that Michel Thomas was a liar and a fraud who exaggerated or fabricated significant facts about his WWII service:

1) “a U.S. Justice Department former chief Nazi hunter” (Allan Ryan)
2) “an Oscar-winning documentary” (Hotel Terminus by Marcel Ophuls)
3) “The Los Angeles Times” (Rivenburg’s paper)
4) “Le Monde” (French newspaper whose 1987 article parenthetically mentioned Thomas’ testimony against Klaus Barbie)
5) “Newsday” (sister newspaper to LA Times, owned by Tribune Group of Chicago)
6) “the prosecutor at Klaus Barbie’s trial” (French prosecutor Pierre Truche)
7) John Carroll (former LA Times editor who made public comments supporting Rivenburg in February 2004);
8) WWII comrades who served with Michel Thomas (NONE)

Comments:
–Allan Ryan’s 1983 report, “Klaus Barbie and the United States Government: A Report to the Attorney General of the United States” regarding the role of US intelligence agencies in protecting known war-criminal Klaus Barbie when they used him as a postwar “asset,” had been criticized publicly by Thomas. Ryan responded to those criticisms in a 1983 press conference. After their public confrontation about Barbie, Ryan and Thomas communicated privately and reached an amicable understanding. Ryan was not contacted or interviewed for Rivenburg’s 2001 article.

– Thomas was referred to in less than 20 seconds of Marcel Ophuls’ 1988 film “Hotel Terminus” as one of several witnesses against Barbie. Ophuls was not contacted by Rivenburg for his 2001 profile of Thomas.
– a 1987 Le Monde article parenthetically commented that Thomas’s testimony against Barbie displayed “un goût trop prononcé de paraitre, de multiplier les détails.” Rivenburg quoted French historian Henri Rousso as stating that this Le Monde quote meant “a taste for make-believe” rather than the more accurate “a taste for emphasizing too much, of offering too many details.” Contacted after Rivenburg’s profile was published, Rousso stated he was not contacted by Rivenburg in 2001. Regarding the French history program from which Rivenburg lifted this quote, Rousso added, “”My problem was not to comment on the testimony itself but to explain the atmosphere during the trial.”

– Pierre Truche met with Thomas in his office after the trial. He made it clear that he did not think Thomas had lied in his testimony, but said he excluded it because it was complex and unlikely. Truche said that as he listened to the evidence he was reminded of Boileau’s line: “Le vrai peut quelquefois n’etre pas vraisemblable” — “The truth can sometimes not be likely.” Truche was not contacted or interviewed for Rivenburg’s 2001 article.

– re: Newsday: Rivenburg colleague and fellow Tribune-Group employee Ron Howell misleadingly quoted Thomas’s investigator in a July 2004 article after interviewing him at the New York ceremony in which Rep. Carolyn Maloney presented Thomas with the Silver Star. Alone amidst otherwise universally postive press coverage of a ninety year-old receiving the Silver Star sixty years after having been nominated for it, Howell’s article recycled Rivenburg’s alleged ‘controversy’ about Thomas’s official status. He did so by insinuating that the investigator’s “admission” Thomas was never inducted was proof Thomas had lied about his CIC service. He left out that the investigator made it clear that in Thomas’s biography and the entire record of his public statements on the subject Thomas never claimed he was inducted, but rather stated that he had the unusual status of having served as a full-fledged CIC Agent in 1945-47 despite not yet acquiring his US citizenship;

– John Carroll was asked before a friendly audience in February 2004 at UC Berkeley, why he had never replied to the more than 400 letters he had been sent regarding the Times article about Thomas. His angry response indicated he did not know or recall fundamental aspects of Thomas’s recently-concluded defamation case against the Los Angeles Times, including the fact that Mr. Thomas’s biography was not an autobiography but was written by British author Christopher Robbins, that Thomas, not the author of the book, had sued the Times, and that the award of attorney’s fees in the case did not reflect a punitive decision by the judge, but rather was mandated by California’s anti-SLAPP statute. Nor did he mention that the Times attorneys were reprimanded by the judge for “rampant overbilling” and ordered to cut their fees nearly in half.

Thomas Supporters:
Public Officials & Institutions:

1) Senator Bob Dole (R, KS), (pinned Silver Star on Thomas in May 2004 at US WWII Memorial)
2) Senator John Warner (R, VA),(pinned Silver Star on Thomas in May 2004 at US WWII Memorial)
3) Senator John McCain (R, AZ), (submitted 1944 Silver Star nomination & supporting documents to US Army)
4) Senator Max Cleland (D, GA), (sent congratulatory note to Thomas in May 2004 calling him a “genuine hero”)
5) U.S.Representative Carolyn Maloney (D,NY),(submitted 1944 Silver Star nomination & supporting documents to US Army: hosted July 2004 ceremony in New York City where she pinned Silver Star on Thomas at the Armory before an honor guard and Thomas’s friends and family)
5) Ambassador of France Jean-David Levitte,(saluted Thomas as French Resistance fighter at May 2004 Silver Star ceremony);
6) US Army Decorations Review Board (researched Thomas’s WWII service and 1944 nomination for Silver Star; granted Silver Star in May 2004);
7) Robert Wolfe (National Archives WWII Captured German War documents expert, wrote monograph concluding Thomas rescued Nazi Party worldwide membership card file from destruction in May 1945. Wolfe also wrote about the role of American intelligence agencies, including the CIC, in protecting Barbie after the war here: http://www.archives.gov/iwg/research-papers/barbie-irr-file.html)
8) U.S. Justice Dept. current “chief Nazi hunter,” Eli Rosenbaum, (head of Office of Special Investigations, attended 2004 Silver Star ceremony at WWII Memorial);
9) U.S. Justice Dept. “Nazi hunter” Gregory Gordon (senior trial attorney, Office of Special Investigations, wrote article crediting Thomas with rescuing Nazi Party membership file in 1945, United States Attorney’s Bulletin, February 2006 “Taking the Paper Trail Instead of Memory Lane: OSI’s Use of Ancient Foreign Documents in the Nazi Cases” (http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usab5401.pdf) )
10) U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (chief archivist and other museum leadership reviewed documents and photos Thomas took at liberation of Dachau, and interviewed him. The Museum publicly saluted Thomas as a Dachau liberator before a large crowd at its Memorial Day 2004 “Salute to Liberators”)

WWII Comrades Who Served with Thomas:
1) Dr. Theodore “Ted” Kraus(CIC colleague & commanding officer of Thomas; interviewed by Rivenburg but never mentioned in profile. Wrote letter complaining of this to LA Times and submitted sworn affidavit in Thomas’s defamation suit against LA Times stating, “I do not understand why Mr. Rivenburg or the Los Angeles Times decided to ignore the information I provided to them. The absence of this information implies that Mr. Rivenburg was intent on discrediting Mr. Thomas, despite clear evidence I provided him about Thomas’s military service.” Traveled from Connecticut home to California, Oklahoma, and Washington, DC to defend Thomas’ reputation and celebrate his receiving the Silver Star;

2) Walter Wimer, (CIC colleague from WWII; filed sworn Declaration in Thomas’s defamation suit stating “the implication … that Michel Thomas was a civilian employee who merely worked as a translator or investigator inaccurately belittles Mr. Thomas’s service in the CIC … Mr. Thomas was sent out on missions by our commanding officers, in the same capacity and with the same duties and powers as the other Agents of our unit.”;

3) Bedford Groves(CIC colleague and former 180th Regiment US Army comrade from WWII; submitted letter to US Army describing how Thomas “did the work of three [CIC] Agents.” Attended 2004 Silver Star ceremony in wheelchair.)

4) Henry Teichmann: (180th Regiment US Army WWII comrade; wrote 1944 orders releasing Thomas for CIC service; met Thomas at 2002 Oklahoma City 45th Infantry Division reunion, submitted letter to US Army in support of 2003 application for Silver Star)
All the sworn Declarations referred to above can be downloaded at http://www.michelthomas.org (Library section)

Experts Quoted by Rivenburg in His Profile of Thomas:

1) Felix Sparks (led troops of 157th Regiment that liberated Dachau; signed statement that Thomas could easily have been at Dachau liberation without his knowledge, contrary to Rivenburg’s quote in Thomas profile);

2) Hugh Foster (expert on Dachau liberation; wrote detailed review of evidence Thomas was Dachau liberator, concluding he was one, and indicating Rivenburg may have misled him by withholding crucial evidence in order to elicit damaging quote);

3) George Leaman(compiled 1994 inventory of the Berlin Document Center, quoted in Rivenburg article that Stefan Heym’s account of ‘45 rescue of Nazi files was ‘more on the mark’ than Thomas’s; when interviewed in 2002, admitted he had not read Stefan Heym’s accounts of rescue of Nazi files for more than 8 years, could not find copy of same in his files, and said his assesment of Thomas’s account was based more on the biography’s ‘chummy accounts of womanizing’ than on a detailed review of evidence regarding the discovery of the Nazi files)

4) Stefan Heym(US Army reporter in 1945 who later defected and became committed East German communist; stated in 2001 letter shortly before his death that he did not recall being contacted by Rivenburg, criticized “CIC boys and their ilk” in his response).

5) Conrad “Mac” McCormick (US Army archivist and CIC expert; interviewed at Ft. Huachuca, AZ after being quoted in Rivenburg’s article, McCormick discovered mention of CIC “Agent Thomas” in the unpublished official history of the CIC which he was indexing. Signed sworn declararation in Thomas’s defamation suit stating that the LA Times published a “Letter-to-the-editor” from him, expressing approval of Rivenburg’s profile, even though he never wrote any such Letter-to-the-Editor to the Times);

The letters from Sparks and Foster, and the signed McCormick Declaration, can be downloaded at http://www.michelthomas.org (Library section)

Press and Broadcast Outlets:
1) US Army News Service: (http://www.defendamerica.mil/profiles/may2004/pr052804b.html);
2) CNN, Wolf Blitzer program: (Memorial Day 2004 broadcast re: Silver Star award, “Memories of War: WW II hero decorated 60 years later” ( http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/05/31/hero.decorated/index.html?iref=newssearch)
3) French National News Service: (Memorial Day 2004 broadcast re: Silver Star award)
4) Spanish National News Service: (Memorial Day 2004 broadcast re: Silver Star award)
5) Fox News, Bill O’Reilly Report: (June 8, 2004 broadcast, ‘Unresolved Problems’ segment; O’Reilly: “If Dole and Warner give the guy a Silver Star two weeks ago, I don’t know. Last question, is there any reason to put this old guy through this? The guy looks like he’s a hero, he gets the Silver Star. Is there any reason on Earth?”
6) Ha’aretz, Tom Segev: (“Moment of Truth for Michel Thomas” September 12, 2002; sample quote, “The Los Angeles Times reporter asked Thomas what color the party membership cards were – and Thomas did not remember. These cards were of a very special color, noted the reporter portentously.”)
7) NBC Nightly News, hosted by Tom Brokaw(2004 taped segment by Mike Taibbi)

Others:
1) 130+ veterans of the US Army’s 45th Infantry Division (sent signed cards protesting Rivenburg article to LA Times in 2002);
2) Flint Whitlock, (author of “Rock of Anzio” about 45th Division landing in Italy in ‘44), sent letter protesting Rivenburg article to LA Times;
3) Mortimer Zuckerman, (publisher US News & World Report, New York Daily News); sent letter protesting Rivenburg article to LA Times;
4) Warren Beatty, (actor, former Thomas language student), sent letter protesting Rivenburg article to LA Times;
5) Raquel Welch,(actress, former Thomas language student), sent letter protesting Rivenburg article to LA Times;
6) Emma Thompson, (actress, former Thomas language student), sent letter protesting Rivenburg article to LA Times;
7) Kevin Kline, (actor), attended 2004 Silver Star award ceremony in NYC, saluted Thomas
8) Walter Curley, (former US Ambassador); sent letter protesting Rivenburg article to LA Times;
9) Serge Klarsfeld, (Parisian attorney and Nazi hunter); sent letter protesting Rivenburg article to LA Times

10) Sherrie Mazingo (University of Minnesota Journalism professor and certfied expert witness in Federal defamation cases; wrote 2001 expert witness opinion stating that the article “fails the standards of accuracy, fairness, and balance” and “what is perhaps most grievously unethical about the article … is the overwhelming presence of editorializing, bias, superfluous information and cheap shots.”

11) Herbert Morris, (former UCLA Law Professor and Dean of School of Humanities and Sciences; filed Declaration in defamation case stating that he spoke to Mr. Rivenburg prior to publication of his article and told him that he had “strong reservations about the motives of the Times in what appeared to me to be an attempt at an expose” and that “what Mr. Rivenburg and the Times were about to do was ‘tragic.’”

12) Christopher Robbins, the author of Thomas’s 2000 biography “Test of Courage” recently re-published as “Courage Beyond Words:; outlined a wealth of documentation he presented to Mr. Rivenburg during lengthy correspondence prior to publication the article. Much of this was documentation already footnoted in his book. Filed sworn Declaration in Thomas’s defamation suit stating that Rivenburg “was not interested in reviewing any of my material. His only interest seemed to be locating information which could be used to discredit Michel and Michel’s credibility”, and, “From the start, it was clear to me that Mr. Rivenburg was intent on creating an issue where none existed.”

13) Professor Robin T. Lakoff, (Dept. of Linguistics, University of California Berkeley; filed expert Declaration in defamation case. Regarding Rivenburg’s omission of the statements of Dr. Ted Kraus from his article, Prof. Lakoff stated, “Mr. Rivenburg’s deliberate omission of that material from the article represents a form of non-objectivity, a conscious choice of material in favor of that which represents Mr. Thomas badly, against that which represents him favorably … reportorial bias tending to cause a typical reader to disbelieve Michel Thomas can be discerned reliably not only from what is explicitly present in the story itself. It is also discerned in what is absent, that, in a truly objective report, ought to be present: statements from both sides.”
The sworn Declarations of Morris, Mazingo, Robbins, Lakoff, and Michel Thomas can be downloaded at http://www.michelthomas.org (Library section)<br

Plus hundreds of others, currently totaling more than 500 persons, who sent letters to the LA Times protesting Rivenburg’s article and asking the paper to correct the record. The Times has never replied to any of them.

I have read the site you pointed me to. Let me explain with his deeds, what type of man my uncle was. During WWII, at times neither side knew which side my uncle was on. He was a counter spy. He was usually the first one in to spy or get a feel of the lay of the land, as with Casablanca and Sicily. To share some additional insight about my uncle with you, his mother was dragged from the family house in France and later killed in Auschwitz. Later he found his father hiding in the Pyrenees a few months after D-day. After all the hardship and pain, he was interroga ting the Goring and Skorzeny at Nuremberg. He felt sorry for Goring and felt Otto was a gentleman of the highest degree, but could be a danger.

During his time at the U.N. he authored two books. The books contained proverbs from around the world. (At the time of his death, he had the world’s largest collection of proverbs.) The books contained proverbs from various countries. He included a proverb from the P.L.O. When the Israeli Delegation from the U.N. questioned him about it, he said “I believe in self determination for everyone as long as no one gets harmed”!

I guess it was not bad for a guy who was born a White Russian Jew who died with a price on his head placed there by the Soviet Government!

With all this being said, if you are showing me the site to show me you have interest, then I welcome you. If you are showing me the site for any other reason, it does not make any difference because I still welcome you!

Warmest Regards,

Larry

PS I will click on the link in the next few days to contribute

Your uncle seems to have been an incredible person, and did a magnificent job in WWII. I would like to leave something for posterity.

Nico