Memorial Day in France

Since its founding in 1919, Paris American Legion Post 1 has participated in area Memorial Day activities. As part of its 103rd-anniversary year, plans for 2022 are as big as ever.

Sunday, May 29, will feature events at the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial, the Post 1 Mausoleum at la Défense, Suresnes American Cemetery and the Arc de Triomphe. That same day, the American Battle Monuments Commission will conduct ceremonies at their cemeteries throughout France.

The department of Tarn, in the south of France, will host a variety of events even before Memorial Day, some of which include a parachute dive at Albi Airfield on Thursday, May 26; a ceremony at an area stele (monument) to the dead from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) on Friday, May 27; and a World War II vehicle exhibition in Lautrec on Sunday, May 29.

In the department of Oise, north of Paris, a ceremony for Americans killed in Oise during World War I and World War II will be held on Saturday, May 28.

And in Sainte-Mère-Église, Normandy, Post 1 will host a ceremony on Monday, May 30, at the “Iron Mike” statue at Pont de La Fière commemorating the fierce battle the 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers faced when going ashore on D-Day. 

For more details on events around Memorial Day and throughout June, visit Post 1’s website.