On This Day - June 13, 1777, during the American Revolution, a young French aristocrat

[elleng]

Marie-Joseph Paul Roch Yves Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, arrived on American shores with the intention of serving in the Continental army under the
famed George Washington. Lafayette had been ordered by the French King Louis XVI to remain in France and not attempt to join the Americans as this action was sure to inflame the British, but the Marquis slipped out of the country anyways.

[cbabe]

1. Lafayette grave. Teen boys love his story. Stir up excitement

about history.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=lafayette+grave+paris&t=h_&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fi0.wp.com%2Fthejeucks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F09%2FPicpus-Cemetary-Marquis-de-Lafayette-grave20170715.jpg

[cbabe]

2. WWI tribute: General Pershing

https://sites.lafayette.edu/lafayettewwi/

The Legacy of Lafayette in World War I

On July 4, 1917, General John J. Pershing, commander of the newly-arrived American Expeditionary Force in Europe, made a special pilgrimage to a small cemetery on the outskirts of Paris. There the General and his staff stopped beside a simple grave. It was Pershing’s aide, Colonel Charles E. Stanton, who spoke: ” It is with loving pride we drape the colors in tribute of respect to this citizen of your great republic. And here and now in the presence of the illustrious dead we pledge our hearts and our honor in carrying this war to a successful issue. Lafayette, we are here!”

Memories of Lafayette’s contributions to the American Revolution resonated with many Americans who sympathized with France and her allies during World War I. Lafayette’s name was invoked for the Lafayette Fund, started by Americans in 1914 to supply comfort kits to French soliders; for the Lafayette Memorial, established by Americans who purchased Lafayette’s birthplace, the Chateau Chavaniac, in 1917; and for the Lafayette Escadrille, the squadron of American pilots who flew for France.

[Karadeniz]

3. His involvement saved his neck later....

[Ruby Zee]

4. Lafayette, we are here

Made me cry