Happy Memorial Day

Hopefully, most of you are enjoying or have enjoyed your extended Memorial Day weekend. Whitney and I had the chance to commorate this event in a very special way. We were honored with the opportunity to once again represent the Defense Attaché Office at a Memorial Day event in France.


The special part about this ceremony was that it took place at one of the 11 American cemeteries in France that are dedicated solely to the fallen men and women from the two world wars. The most famous of these cemeteries is Normandy. Our ceremony was in Épinal, France where over 5,000 soldiers from WWII lie in rest alongside the men with whom they fought in order to liberate Europe and ensure our freedom would endure at home.

During the ceremony I was honored to have the opportunity to place a memorial wreath with The French-American Association of War Veterans.

Following the ceremony I was able to chat in more detail with the Veterans. I found it interesting that whenever I would walk up to a WWII French army veteran they would smile, state their name, rank, their unit....and the American unit that they fought alongside with during WWII. They are all extremely proud just to have marched alongside the American military and it showed me what an honor it is to serve our nation.

It is really quite profound that these French army veterans along with thousands of French citizens return every year to the American cemeteries throughout France to pay their respects to the sacrfice that these brave Americans made to end tyrnanny and ensure we enjoy the freedom that we have today.