A slightly uncomfortable General George Patton poses with a much more relaxed Marlene Dietrich during the latter's visit to entertain troops in northern France, 1944.  Dietrich insisted on accompanying Patton on visits to forward troops during this visit (probably neither of them should really have been there).  When Patton asked her why she had done this, she replied that she considered it a moral imperative.  

The Angel and the Fire-Eater ...

Expatriate German actress and singer, Marlene Dietrich, entertains the troops at Anzio, 1944.  

A creature of post-WW1 German liberalism, Marlene was, not only a dedicated anti-Nazi, but also an extremely loyal and devoted naturalized US citizen - something that those in the States more fanatically opposed to inward migration might ponder.

I may have recounted this before - but there is an amusing story (if such is possible) about Marlene's death.  When she died in her Paris apartment (in which she had lived as a recluse for many years), her family was represented by an American nephew with a very poor grasp of French (like me).  Word got around and, apart from the funeral director, the Mayor of the local district (arrondisment) and several of his officials arrived at the apartment to witness the departure (if not the passing) of their famous resident.  The nephew was having serious difficulty in communicating with the funeral director and feared (perhaps unreasonably) that he was proposing to take the body from the apartment uncovered.  He cast around for an appropriate French word for ... coffin ?  casket ?  shroud ...?  Eventually he tried "shroud", but the only word he could come up with was "drapeau".  Hearing this word, the local Mayor immediately reacted - "Drapeau ?  Drapeau ?  Ah, oui, monsieur", and rattled off instructions to one of the officials.  The official left, and returned some time later with a large French tricolor - the "Drapeau Tricolor".  Thus, Marlene left for the funeral parlor wrapped in the original European red, white and blue banner of Liberty.  At her funeral service in the Church of the Madeleine some days later, she lay under another red, white and blue banner - the star-spangled one of her adopted country, the US.  Two flags of Liberty - I am sure that she would have been pleased.  Best regards, JR.

Blue Angel of Anzio.

Dietrich was known to have strong political convictions and the mind to speak them. In interviews, Dietrich stated that she had been approached by representatives of the Nazi Party to return to Germany but had turned them down flat. Dietrich, a staunch anti-Nazi, became an American citizen in 1939.In December 1941, the U.S. entered World War II, and Dietrich became one of the first celebrities to raise war bonds. She toured the US from January 1942 to September 1943 (appearing before 250,000 troops on the Pacific Coast leg of her tour alone) and was reported to have sold more war bonds than any other star.