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Unless correspondents ask us not to, this Website will post selected letters that it receives and invite open debate. |
Alan
Lloyd
reports that West
Point still believes in free research, in a letter of
Wednesday, September 20, 2000
Relaxed conversation with a West Point major
I HAVE been accepted into the United States Army Officer Candidate school, which is scheduled to start in April. It has been quite a process with stringent mental and physical tests, examinations, and interviews. After one particular interview, a certain Major and I fell into a relaxed conversation on a myriad of topics. One topic that came up was the upcoming second volume of your book 'Churchill's War'. I mentioned your website and found out that this Major was well versed in your earlier books but hadn't a clue of the legal battles and World-Wide campaign against your person and your credibility as a historian.
He is a graduate of West Point. It was actually at West Point that he first read a couple of your books, as a few were stocked at the library there. He declared that your book on Rommel was one of his favorites. Spiked with a curiosity as to the 'nature' of the legal battles you were waging, he asked and I answered that it dealt with libel of 'anti-Semitism' and 'holocaust denial' and that your books were being banned and publishers were on the retreat.
He said: "Irving? . . . Let me ask so and so down at the Point about this." About two weeks later I ran into the Major again, and he told me that your books are still shelved at the library at West Point. Just last night, he told me on the phone that he had visited your website and that he is quite fascinated.
I saw that you will be having an expert on the Holy Shroud at Real History USA - Cincinnati. God bless you, Mr. Irving! To honor Jesus Christ, Sovereign King, in such a way will bring many graces to you and your endeavors. I honor you for your courage and fight. One Internet site I have found to be the *best* on the Holy Shroud and the whole controversy of the carbon-14 testing is at: http://www.crc-internet.org/shroud.htm.
Sincerely,
Alan Lloyd and family (Ruth, Philomena, Calista, Justin, and Tristan)
David
Irving replied on Monday, September 18, 2000:
YES, the traditional enemies of the truth made a concerted effort to have all my books removed from the shelves of history libraries at West Point; Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama; the US Military History Institute; Annapolis, and other institutions. "Concerned citizens" wrote private letters to the respective commandants. I have copies of those letters and the reassuring replies. They appear not to have had the desired effect. There are currently forty-three of my titles in the Widener Library at Harvard and a similar number in Stanford University library. Alas, army officers trying to access my website on Army computers in Bosnia and other foreign stations get a "blocked site" message: "This website is deemed not to be mission-related. Any further attempts by you to access it will be logged." The army appears to have forgotten what principles wars are fought to defend. Free speech is pretty high on the list.
David Irving