It was an awkward moment. Larry Speakes had just announced President Reagan's intention to visit a German military cemetery near Bitburg when he travels to Europe next month to attend an economic summit meeting and commemorate the 40th anniversary of V-E day. A reporter asked who is buried there. The White House spokesman said he believed there were graves of both American and German soldiers at the site. Not so, an aide reported later: there are only Germans.
The incident illustrated the awkward way that the White House has handled several sensitive issues surrounding the President's upcoming trip. James Hubbard, deputy...
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