▼

Tuesday 7 September 2010

Pershing-La Fayette


At the city limit stand these two monuments facing each other. One is dedicated to General Pershing and is engraved with the names of famous World War I battles and Pershing's words 'La Fayette, here we come', pronounced on 15 June 1917. The second one is dedicated to General La Fayette, also engraved with famous battles such as Yorktown, James River and Brandywine where he was wounded. His words in 1776: 'the instant I learned that America was fighting for its independence, my heart enrolled', thus committing French aid in the American Revolutionary war. The monument has recently been restored and I owe it to the renovators As.ri.eu.pe to even have noticed it. These photos were taken in August.
---------------------------
Juste à la limite de la ville, à la lisière de la forêt de Fausses-Reposes, se trouve ce double monument, dédié aux généraux Pershing et La Fayette. De part et d'autre de la route menant à Ville d'Avray sont égrenés des noms de batailles de la première guerre mondiale et de la guerre d'indépendance des Etats-Unis, ainsi que les mots du général Pershing, "La Fayette, nous voici" prononcés le 15 juin 1917 et ceux de La Fayette, visibles sur la seconde photo (si vous l'agrandissez en cliquant dessus). Ce monument a récemment été restauré et je dois ces photos prises en août à l'As.ri.eu.pe, qui a oeuvré pour sa restauration et qui a attiré mon attention sur son existence.
at

21 comments:

  1. stromsjo7/9/10 00:01

    Strong words, my heart enrolled .

    ReplyDelete
  2. Paulie7/9/10 00:33

    Your post brought a smile to my face . . . growing up, I did not realize how much France helped us in America.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chattahoochee Valley Daily7/9/10 00:39

    I guess you could say that Britain was our father and France was our mother. I agree with Per...strong words indeed.

    Very interesting post.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jack7/9/10 01:31

    Hi, Ceil. Isn't it an interesting coincidence that we both posted Lafayette items just 24 hours apart, on different sides of the Atlantic!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lowell7/9/10 01:39

    I believe that the U.S. owes an ongoing debt of gratitude to Lafayette, for without his help it is unlikely that the War of Independence would have been won by the colonies.

    I also believe that Pershing tried, in his way, to help repay that debt.

    Very fine monument!

    ReplyDelete
  6. GreensboroDailyPhoto7/9/10 01:58

    So much history in your neck of the woods. I'm always learning something when I stop by.

    The nice music makes it hard to leave.

    ReplyDelete
  7. akarui7/9/10 02:08

    J'etais un cancre en histoire... 2 generaux qui meritent certainement ces imposants monuments.
    Pour repondre a ta question: Les vetements traditionels ne sont portes que pour une occasion speciale. Cela peut etre une fete en ville ou un evenement plus familial. Les 3 doubles portraits ont ete pris lors de petites fetes locales et il y avait plusieurs personnes vetues de cette facon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Randy7/9/10 02:36

    Your are is so rich with history. That is why I love living here is Santa Fe. The history of it all. I didn't appreciate as much when I was younger, glad I wised up.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous7/9/10 02:37

    A fine tribute! Both were instrumental in our respective country's history. A beautiful monument.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Life Is A Road Trip7/9/10 05:19

    Guess you could say that the French and Americans have been friends for life. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Olivier7/9/10 05:32

    bel hommage a ces deux hommes et une belle phrase de Lafayette (tres americaine dans son texte)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Small City Scenes7/9/10 07:04

    Thank goodness for the helping hands---on both sides. Nice tribute. MB

    ReplyDelete
  13. Leslie D.7/9/10 07:54

    Fascinating. I particularly remember reading about Pershing's involvement in the battle of the Argonne Forest toward the end of the war. Great reminder of these great men!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Malyss7/9/10 08:21

    Encore une preuve de l'amitié franco-americaine! et nous , nous continuons, à notre modeste façon.. On n'aura surement pas de monument , mais bon!:)

    ReplyDelete
  15. VP7/9/10 10:03

    Great post, freedom has to be conquered and defended.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Cezar and Léia7/9/10 12:57

    The restoration is fabulous, these monuments look great!A beautiful homage for these brave men.Thanks a lot for this history lesson!
    *** beautiful sunny day in August!
    Here is raining again :( I guess it is normal here and it will be in this way until December :(
    Léia

    Je souhaite que la grève générale n'a pas perturbé votre journée!

    ReplyDelete
  17. B SQUARED7/9/10 13:38

    The world hungers for more Pershings.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Kaori7/9/10 15:59

    That's some history. I don't remember if we leaned about the French helping out in social studies when I was there. I love those words "here we come!"

    ReplyDelete
  19. Laurent7/9/10 16:39

    Belle page culture ... et tu as de la chance pour le télétravail ! Moi je suis au bureau en banlieue ...ah le retour ce soir !

    ReplyDelete
  20. Eleonora Baldwin7/9/10 18:13

    Lovely! And thank you for the usual historical snippet, so interesting!
    Ciao

    ReplyDelete
  21. Loree7/9/10 22:38

    Very interesting information.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting and leaving a thought! Sorry about the moderation, a bit tired of spam at the moment!

Merci de votre visite très appréciée et de laisser une pensée ! Désolée de devoir modérer vos commentaires, VDP en a un peu marre des spammeurs en ce moment !