Plate LXIX - Mort pour La Patrie…
ICI REPOSE UN SOLDAT FRANCAIS MORT POUR LA PATRIE 1914-1918 Every evening at six thirty the eternal flame, first lit by war minister Maginot on Armistice Day, November 11, 1923, is rekindled beneath the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs Elysées by veterans belonging to the Committee of the Flame. Wreaths in the national colours are laid and respect is paid to the deceased heroes of past conflicts.
There is no question that the Parisians are a patriotic people. Signs and remembrances of national events, wars and victories, heroes and heroines abound throughout the city.
On November 10, 1920 Auguste Thien selected the sixth of eight unmarked identical coffins, each bearing the remains of an unknown French soldier killed during the Great War of 1914-18. On January 21, 1921 the Unknown French Soldier was laid to rest in this place of honour.
My late grandfather was a surviving soldier of the allied forces of that First Great War. Standing before his unknown comrade, I remembered him.
(One of my all time personal favourite images)
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