As you have probably guessed by now, Daniel and I took a trip over the holiday weekend. We had the privilege of attending a ceremony at the Belleau Wood Memorial in northern France, about an hour outside of Paris. Since we were going to spend the whole long weekend away, we headed out on Friday afternoon. It was a sunny, leisurely five-hour drive, during which we enjoyed lovely landscapes the entire way... if the German countryside is comprised mainly of rolling hills, then the French countryside has lots of very gently rolling hills, and they both made for a very nice drive. Plus, with summer approaching, we had daylight for all of it... as we arrived in the town of Chateau-Thierry just after 9:30 pm, the sun was just beginning to set! This late evening sunlight will definitely take some getting used to...
On Saturday morning, we had a pretty early start. By 7:45 am , we were on our way to begin the battle field tour. Our first stop was the striking World War I Memorial perched on top of a hill just outside of Chateau-Thierry. The memorial was built in honor of the American troops that came and fought in the region back in 1918. With its distinct lines and bold presence, it definitely commands attention. Designed to be reminiscent of our nations's flag, the memorial actually displays 13 stripes and 48 stars, to represent the 48 states that made up the U.S. when the memorial was built in 1955.
The location of the memorial also provides an excellent vantage point to survey the surrounding area. On such a clear, beautiful day, the view was quite breathtaking.
After taking in the memorial and the spectacular view, we met our tour guide, Giles. He is a French citizen who became interested in America's participation in WWI, particularly in France, at the age of 9. He has spent many years researching this slice of history, and for his dedication and expertise, he has been named an honorary Marine, one of only two foreign nationals and the only European! He started our tour by talking us through the overall timeline of the Battle of Belleau Wood using the large map painted directly onto the memorial. But I don't want to give away all the details yet, so onto the tour.... hope you're ready for a history lesson :)
We soon arrived where the battle began on June 2, 1918... in some wheat fields next to a nearby farm. In the spring of 1918, the Germans were on the offensive, making their way toward Paris. In this field near the Le Mar Farm, the Marines stopped the Germans in their tracks as they attempted to move in from the ridge to the north. During WWI, this is the closest point to Paris the Germans would reach, and as the battle carried on, they were pushed further and further back.
On June 6th, the battle continued at another nearby ridge, Hill 142. Despite heavy losses, the Marines captured the hill by that afternoon. The battle raged on to the south, which ended with more heavy Marine losses and a deadlock with the German troops. As the Marines prepared to continue their charge into Belleau Wood, there were only two places where they could get fresh water in the whole area. One was a spring in the tiny town of Lucy-le-Bocage. Even today, there is a German shell stuck in the wall encompassing the spring. The other spot where the Marines would get fresh water was from a lion head fountain in the village of Bouresches, which has since dried up.
As the Marines made their final approach into Belleau Wood, they had to cross a wide expanse of open field, all while under German fire. Despite this, those very brave men had taken the southern part of the wood from the Germans by June 11th.
At this point, the fighting continued in the northern part of Belleau Wood. Did you know that the Battle of Belleau Wood was when foxholes were first used? The Marines only had their helmets, cooking pans, and bayonets to dig these holes to use for cover against enemy fire. And yes, that is Daniel sitting in one. Following over two more weeks of intense fighting, the Marines finally took the entire forest on June 26, 1918. There now stands a memorial dedicated to the Marines who fought and won the battle. The memorial is affectionately known around the Corps as "Iron Mike." It stands in the northern part of Belleau Wood, which has been officially renamed the "Woods of the Marines" by the French Army.
By now, I am sure you have seen more than enough pictures of wheat fields and woods! Well, after a very interesting but tiring day, it was time for dinner. We ate at a cute little restaurant right near the Marne River in Chateau-Thierry. We found that while the French might like their meat a bit too rare, not surprisingly they make some mighty good fries!
Sunday morning brought an even earlier start... I love being on the road by 6:45 am! We were up so early in order to attend a couple different ceremonies at Belleau Wood. We first attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the "Iron Mike" memorial. Before it began, we witnessed the raising of the colors, and we also took advantage of the opportunity to take photos of our men all decked out in their dress uniforms! Soon the Marine and French Army units fell into formation, and then we were just waiting on the generals to arrive. Once they did, it was a short ceremony with both a 4-star Marine General and French general laying wreaths in front of "Iron Mike" after each national anthem was played. As you can see, the USMC wreath was quite pretty, but I guess I am a tad biased :)
After the wreath-laying, we walked just north of Belleau Wood to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery for the main ceremony. As we approached, there were a couple of dramatic overlooks. Of course, I am always jumping at the chance to get a photo with my handsome husband but especially when he is wearing his dress uniform! So we snapped some photos at the overlook and while we were waiting for the next ceremony to start.
As the ceremony began, the Marines formed up in front of the memorial chapel. Also, the USMC Commandant's Own band, color guard, and Silent Drill Platoon all marched into place. We soon found out that everything was going to be in both English and French, so it did make for a pretty long ceremony, but it was still quite stirring. Both the Marine and French generals gave inspired speeches... and thankfully the French's general speech was translated in the ceremony program! In addition to the speeches, many more wreaths were laid in the name of countries and organizations from around the world. Towards the end of the ceremony, the Marine band and the French Army band both played, followed by a performance by the Silent Drill Platoon, all of which were extremely good.
There were actually many more people in attendance than I expected... nearly 1,000 I think, including lots of French citizens! It was very nice to see that some French actually like and respect the U.S.A. and want to honor the those who sacrificed to help maintain their country's freedom during World War I as well as the Marines that continue to fight for freedom today. Honestly, the entire experience made me very proud to be a Marine wife and an American!
Following the ceremony, all of the Frankfurt Marines formed up for a picture... needless to say, all of us wives are incredibly proud to call these men our husbands! The view from the memorial chapel stairs was also pretty awesome. And I had to get one more picture with Daniel, too!
Next, we were on our way to the last ceremony of the day. This one was a bit more informal than the others... mainly because it centered on drinking from the Devil Dog fountain! The Devil Dog fountain is a USMC legend... the Marines were first called "teufelhunden" (or "devil dogs" in English) by the Germans for their ferocity and tenacity during the Battle of Belleau Wood. Not far from the battle field, in the village of Belleau, there is a bulldog fountain that the WWI Marines supposedly drank from, restoring them after the fierce battle, and so the fountain has become the stuff of lore across the Marine Corps. An opportunity to drink from the Devil Dog fountain is largely considered to be a highlight of any Marine's career, so needless to say, Daniel was thrilled to have the chance!
Later that afternoon, after all of the ceremonies, a bunch of us decided to go champagne tasting since we were in the heart of the Champagne region of France! We headed a bit east and soon found ourselves driving through quaint small towns surrounded by verdant vineyards. We saw an ad for a small vineyard, so we went to check it out. We were met by the owner, who led us up to a tasting room overlooking the beautiful valley. Thankfully, two of our friends knew a bit of French, and the owner knew a little English, and during the conversation, we learned that the vineyard has been owned and operated by his family for the last five generations. You could tell that the champagne business is definitely a way of life in the region. While there, we tried a couple different types of his champagne, and although I am no expert, they were some of the best I have ever had. Since we were in the center of champagne production, we knew there was no better place to buy a bottle... and I am sure the owner was very happy that almost everyone in our group felt the same.
After our stop at the Rasselet vineyard, we drove on toward Epernay, which is considered a commercial center of the Champagne region. We were hoping to tour some of the major champagne producers that are headquartered there, such as Moet & Chandon, makers of Dom Perignon, but unfortunately they were closed by the time we got there. We were able to peek into the visitor center, and they had a pretty cool champagne glass chandelier.
Soon we were looking for a place to eat, and while doing so, we stumbled upon Epernay's Notre Dame... it seems that most French towns have their own Notre Dame! I believe it just means "Church of Our Lady" actually, referring to the Virgin Mary. As we entered the church, we heard the church's organ being played, so we enjoyed a private organ performance. It was pretty neat hearing the music bellow throughout the stone interior. By then our stomachs were also roaring, so we were off to dinner. After partaking of some good Italian food, we made our way back to Chateau-Thierry.
To make the most of our Monday off, a few of us decided to stop by Luxembourg on the way back to Frankfurt. Since it was only a slight detour, we thought it was worth a visit to this pint-sized country nestled between France, Germany, and Belgium. Our goal was to take in its capital and largest city, Luxembourg City.
After lunch and walking around the city a bit, the rather warm weather convinced us to take a bus tour to see more of the city. Not only was the breeze up on top of the double decker bus quite nice, it also gave us a good vantage point to take it all in. We boarded the bus near a huge ravine that divides the northern and southern parts of the city... it was a pretty nice view. We soon passed one of the main squares, which is across from the Grand Ducal Palace, the home of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. It is also where Parliament meets, which makes for an interesting combination of both constitutional monarchy and democracy under one roof.
Next we went into the more modern section of the city. Luxembourg is considered to be a financial center in the E.U. and so is home to many banks. Due to this focus, it is quite a wealthy country with a high standard of living. Most of the banks boast very modern architecture, but my favorite contemporary building was the home of the city's Philharmonic, pictured below. During this part of the tour, we also learned that Luxembourg has three official languages: French, German, and Luxembourgish, which is not surprising considering its location. Multiculturalism and multilingualism seem to be a very prominent part of the lifestyle in Luxembourg.
During the bus tour, I realized how hard it is to take pictures while on a moving bus! Thankfully I did eventually have some success getting a shot of the lush ravine. We also saw the National Savings Bank, one of the very few banks with traditional architecture, and the city's central train station. As the tour came to an end, we drove by the World War I memorial, which seemed quite fitting after the time we spent at Belleau Wood.
Before getting back on the road, we visited Luxembourg's version of Notre Dame Cathedral. Their Church of Our Lady had a very lavish altar as well as a massive organ and ornately carved columns.
This pretty church provided a nice end to our short stop in Luxembourg. A couple of hours later we found ourselves back in Frankfurt, grateful for a very enjoyable long weekend. As you can tell, we are staying quite busy with traveling and such, and I have a feeling that it will only continue this summer... hopefully! But because of this I am a bit behind on my posts... I still have yet to blog about our trip down to Italy, so make sure to come back soon to read all about that!
2 comments:
You definitely get the award for most interesting blog in our family...let alone the history lesson included as a bonus. I love your posts!
I'm FINALLY getting around to reading --- life's been a little busy with wedding planning - and Ken had minor nose surgery last week --- so anyways ......
Loved seeing Daniel & the rest of 'our boys' in uniform --- we're proud too! Gives you a more insight into the past commitments of our country for others around the world.
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