Franco-American Memorial
The Franco-American Memorial committee is
actually a very old committee that had a purpose
for the erection of monuments in Paris to
General Washington and Lafayette during the
Paris Exposition in 1900. The committee
deactivated and was reborn in 2023 with a new
purpose in collaboration with the American
Friends of Lafayette. The mission today is to
follow the Lafayette Farewell Tour 1824-1825 and
celebrate any French national who have made an
impact on American support of liberty and
democracy across the world into current times.
The committee will highlight any event that
celebrates and educates in those 24 states and
communities that the Lafayette tour touches in
his triumphant return to America. The other
states not touched will have the opportunity to
honor French nationals who have made an impact
in more modern society.
The closest the tour comes to Iowa is St Louis,
Missouri. Iowa chapters who have the interest
have many charming events to choose from listed
on the national website under Franco- American
Memorial committee – the Lafayette Farewell
Tour. Check out the 200th Anniversary of the
Lafayette Farewell Tour Toolkit (1824-1825).
There are even Lafayette Minutes and a listing
of all known Franco-American Patriots. On June
7, 2024, Alaska had such a tribute ceremony
honoring Anna Marly, composer of the Chant des
Partisans the “Troubadour of the Resistance” who
used her talents as a singer and composer during
World War II for the benefit of the Allies and
French Resistance. Russian-born, she fled with
her mother at age 1 when her father was killed
in the October Revolution in 1917. Anna became a
French citizen and in 1965 an American citizen.
She passed away in Alaska in 2006. In March of
2025, Hawaii will have a dedication of a Merci
Train car sent by the French nation for American
support during World War II.
By looking at more of the toolkit, there are
many ways Iowa Chapters may participate even
though the Lafayette tour did not include our
state because Iowa became a state in 1846. There
is a form for an Outstanding Chapter or State
Report with an extensive point system. You can
bet something will be in the Master Report for
2024. This renewed committee is a great
opportunity for chapters to have some fun with
Commemorative Events and American History. Any
DAR member may purchase a commemorative
Bicentennial Lafayette 1824-1825 pin ($69.00) or
1778-1794 French Alliance pin ($60.00). Both
pins are available from the Insignia Store. If
you view the opening night of 2024 Continental
Congress, the main speaker was Mark Scheider, a
man who impersonates Marquis de Lafayette
associated with Colonial Williamsburg.
As your state chair of the Franco-American
Memorial committee, I am willing to present a
program on the Merci Train from France and how
it came about and the Iowa connection.
Edee Brunia
edeehb@gmail.com
515-981-3355
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