Winston Memorial Cemetery

S. soldiers and marines killed during World War One on Saturday because rain made it impossible to arrange transport, the White House said. The last minute cancellation prompted widespread criticism on social media and from some officials in Britain and the United States that Trump had "dishonored" U.S. servicemen. The president was scheduled to pay tribute at a ceremony at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Belleau, about 85 km (50 miles) east of Paris, with his wife Melania. But light steady rain and a low cloud ceiling prevented his helicopter from traveling to the site. "(Their attendance) has been canceled due to scheduling and logistical difficulties caused by the weather," the White House said in a statement, adding that a delegation lead by Chief of Staff John Kelly, a retired general, went instead. The decision prompted a rash of criticism on Twitter, with Nicholas Soames, a British member of parliament who is a grandson of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, saying that Trump was dishonoring U.S. servicemen. "They died with their face to the foe and that pathetic inadequate @realDonaldTrump couldn't even defy the weather to pay his respects to the Fallen," Soames wrote on Twitter. Nicholas Soames tweet White House officials said the decision was taken due to the weather and cited security concerns in hastily arranging a motorcade. Similar concerns prevented Trump from reaching the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea a year ago when foggy weather prevented his helicopter from landing. ...

The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.SUBSCRIBENov. 10, 2018 / 5:50 PM GMT / Updated Nov. 10, 2018 / 6:16 PM GMTBy Carol E. Lee, Kristen Welker and Kelly O'DonnellPARIS — The White House’s decision on Saturday to scrap the president’s visit to a cemetery for fallen American soldiers due to weather is creating a bit of a storm of its own.President Donald Trump was scheduled to take a 30-minute helicopter ride from Paris to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial in Belleau, France. But a rainy forecast for the city made it too risky for him to safely fly there, the White House said a couple hours before he was to arrive at the cemetery."The President and First Lady’s trip to Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial has been canceled due to scheduling and logistical difficulties caused by the weather,” the White House announced.White House chief of staff John Kelly and Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the roughly 50-mile long trip to the cemetery in a small motorcade of vehicles. The drive took about 90 minutes each way. Separately, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel traveled a similar distance by car to a commemorative event in northern France.White House chief of staff John Kelly, left, and Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, attend a ceremony at the Aisne Marne American Cemetery in Belleau, France, on Nov. 10, 2018.Francois Mori / APThe White House’s bad-weather call for Trump is not sitting well with some observers.François Heisbourg, a political analyst and former campaign adviser to Macron, posted a photograph on Twitter of someone bicycling in Paris and wrote the weather that kept Trump from the cemetery is: “Nothing a cyclist can't handle, let alone a presidential helo.”A member of the British Parliament and grandson of legendary British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Nicholas Soames, was e...

C;They died with their face to the foe and that pathetic inadequate [Trump] couldn’t even defy the weather to pay his respects to The Fallen,” Soames tweeted Saturday, adding that the president is “not fit” to represent the United States.Trump was in Paris on Saturday to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. In a morning tweet, Trump expressed excitement to “celebrate the end of a war, in particular that one, which was one of the bloodiest and worst of all time.”But he and Melania Trump skipped a planned visit to the Ainse-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial, an American cemetery home to more than 2,000 graves of service members killed in nearby battles, because of “scheduling and logistical difficulties caused by the weather,” the White House said Saturday. Chief of Staff John Kelly and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joe Dunford were to attend in the president and first lady’s absences.Trump received some criticism online for missing the memorial, including from Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who echoed Soames in calling it an “embarrassment [that Trump] can’t find his way to honor our fallen.”“To win World War I, brave Americans fought through snow, mud, & sand with bombs dropping from above, landmines in the ground below, & bullets flying at their faces,” Swalwell tweeted. “The least of their worries was rain.”David Frum, a journalist and former speechwriter for former President George W. Bush, also slammed Trump for skipping the memorial, writing on Twitter that “it’s incredible that a president would travel to France for this significant anniversary — and then remain in his hotel room watching TV rather than pay in person his respects to the Americans who gave their lives in France for the victory gained 100 years ago tomorrow.”“These troops fought victoriously alongside allies with whom the U.S. st...