Roissy/Villepinte, France
August 23, 2015
The nine day pace was quite rigorous! As we left Reims today Mike reminded us that this city was 80% leveled and the Cathedral was an easy target. We headed for the areas of the 2nd Battle of the Marne.
Some of the emphasis today was the Second Battle of the Marne. Our first stop was an area where Theodore Roosevelt's son, Quentin, was honored. Quentin Roosevelt was in the U.S. Army Air Service where he became a pursuit pilot during World War I. Considered the most famous American to die in the war, he was killed in aerial combat July 14, 1918, and buried near Chamery. The crash site was in the distance. Another of Roosevelt’s sons, Ted Jr., would later be the oldest American soldier and highest ranking officer to land by sea in Normandy (Utah Beach) on D-Day June 6, 1944. He died of a heart attack five weeks into the invasion. The two brothers are now buried side by side at the Normandy American Cemetery above Omaha Beach.
At 9 a.m. we pulled into the Oise-Aisne American Military Cemetery which is located in Seringes-et-Nesles. It was created on the spot where the 42nd American Division, “Rainbow Division” fought. Among the 6,012 graves is that of the poet Joyce Kilmer, a sergeant in the 165th Regiment (42nd Division), who was killed on July 3. 1918. Seven pairs of brothers were buried here.
Joyce Kilmer's grave at Oise-Marne
We headed to the Hill 134 site and walked to the crest of a ridge where Kathy's great uncle, 42nd Division, was wounded in a gas attack near the Ourcq River. Her great uncle and others were taken to a hospital that was soon shelled by the Germans. He experienced shrapnel to the knee and his leg was amputated. Kathy read from a letter that he wrote home, "Don't worry." Then she read the letter from the Red Cross to the family explaining that he had died, that everyone loved him, and that he was buried with full military honors. This was an incredibly moving time, to be with Kathy and hear her read the letters right on the site of the conflict.
Kathy at the crest of the hill
We spent some moments at the very poignant
42nd Division Memorial at the Croix Rouge Farm.
Again we were listening to Kathy speak of her grandfather, William, who was in the 3rd Division, 4th Infantry, Co. L. We were on the hill where his unit was pushing up. The Marne River was to our back. William was career Army and had joined in 1912 at the age of 17. ON July 24 he was gassed and had a concussion. He was transferred to a hospital and never returned to the Front. Because he spoke German, Mike speculated that he was part of a team that was systematically visiting POW camps. Kathy shared photos that her grandfather took of various towns and other sites, photos the family never understood how he had been so many places. Our guide Mike solved that mystery!
We had lunch today at McDonald's. Even though the menu was basically the same as in the U.S. some still had challenges ordering.
Happy Meal menu at McDonald's
American Monument de la Cote 204
We stopped at the American Monument De La Cote 204, “a lasting symbol of
friendship and cooperation between the French and Americans. It is considered
stripped classical in design and on its west facade are sculptured figures
representing the United States and France.
Marine 3rd Division Memorial at Belleau Woods
The Aisne-Marne American Cemetery is on the other side of Belleau Woods. Constant Lebastard, assistant superintendent, told us this cemetery gets 40,000 visitors a year. There are 2289 graves here on 42 acres, 250 unknowns, 3 sets of brothers, and one Medal of Honor recipient, Weedon Osbourne. I need to check about the Medal of Honor, Constant told us that it was designed by Tiffany--I had not heard of that before. The sycamore lined walks were beautiful.
Medal of Honor Recipient, Weedon Osbourne's grave
Tiffany Medal of Honor
After this visit we were in an area where Larry's dad and the 1st Division were. Aged 34, he enlisted as soon as the U.S. declared war. He left the U.S. in October and was gassed in February. Mike told us that the 1st Division was considered Pershing's favorite. They saw heavy fighting. At one point the 18th Infantry regiment (Larry's dad's) were fighting next to the French Foreign Legion. The Legion considered it an honor to fight with the 18th Infantry. The 1st Division had 9000 casualties in 5 days.
In Berzy le Sec we saw a 12th century chateau in ruins from shelling in World War I which the Germans used as a fort. A church was nearby, San Quentin, celebrating 1700 years (I believe the church was built on a 4th century monastery).
Berzy-le-Sec's chateau in ruins and the San Quentin church
We drove on to Roissy and our hotel and our farewell dinner. We have shared this tour with the most delightful people one can imagine. Not only did we all share a common interest, we enjoyed each other's company. Mike even said we were the closest tour group he has had in twenty years.
An anecdote: Our bus driver, congenial Pieter, was truly skilled. He was a sweet 28 year old from the Netherlands with a good sense of humor One day Mike told Pieter to drive the bus down what he thought was a road to see a special site. However it must have been sort of a driveway with no where to turn a 45 passenger bus around. That meant that Pieter had to back the bus up the whole long length he had driven down. That backward drive took 15 minutes of backing up! And I said it like that to emphasize the skill! Last year I backed up for 10 yards in my new car last year at a cousin's country house and hit a pile of rocks.
TK's Takes: He spotted a golf course, Golf de Champagne on the way to the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery. This was the first golf course that he noticed.
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