[STARLIT]

The long friendship between the United States and France began 241 years ago this month, when a 19-year-old Frenchman named Lafayette set sail to join America’s fight for independence. He quickly won the trust of George Washington, fought bravely in the battle, and helped secure the aid of France for the American cause. Decades later, President Andrew Jackson wrote that the memory of Lafayette “will be second only to that of Washington in the hearts of the American people.”

The beautiful friendship between the United States and France, forged in revolution, has changed the course of history. Exactly 100 years ago this spring, Americans fought side-by-side with the gallant French in World War I.

A generation later, in the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of young Americans and Free French sacrificed together to save civilization in its hour of greatest need.

Sixty-thousand American service members rest for eternity beneath the peaceful fields and hills of the French countryside. And in the soil of Virginia and Georgia, French patriots whose names are known only to God lie in unmarked graves.

Today, we meet to affirm this friendship that has flourished as an example to the world for more than two centuries.

Our two great republics are linked together by the timeless bonds of history, culture, and destiny. We are people who cherish our values, protect our civilization, and recognize the image of God in every human soul.

This legacy has made us who we are, and given us what we hold dear: the blessings of faith and freedom; the marvels of art and science; the love of family and community; and the defense of home and country.

This righteous calling, this sacred heritage, is what moved a young Frenchman to risk death for American liberty at Yorktown. It is what spurred the Americans to storm the cliffs of Omaha Beach. It is what drove the farmers of Massachusetts to stand at Concord Bridge, and the citizens of Paris to man the barricades.

The beautiful friendship between the United States and France, forged in revolution, has changed the course of history.,p>

Exactly 100 years ago this spring, Americans fought side-by-side with the gallant French in World War I.

A generation later, in the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of young Americans and Free French sacrificed together to save civilization in its hour of greatest need.

Sixty-thousand American service members rest for eternity beneath the peaceful fields and hills of the French countryside. And in the soil of Virginia and Georgia, French patriots whose names are known only to God lie in unmarked graves.

[Jane Long]

I always love seeing the Geo Washington statue, in Paris.

Thanks for the history revisit, NIKK!

[RitaOK]

Thanks ever so much for the glorious Trump speech post.