Château-Thierry, Champagne
Château-Thierry is a rather unremarkable town on the river Marne, 90 kilometres east of Paris. It is very much in the Vallée de la Marne sub-region of the Champagne wine region, with beautiful vineyards climbing up the nearby coteaux (hillsides).
The town was the birthplace of Jean de La Fontaine (1621–1695), a fabulist and poet, known best for his Fables. It was also the site of the Battle of Château-Thierry (1814) in the Napoleonic Wars between France and Prussia.
Château-Thierry was the location of the First and Second Battles of the Marne during World War 1. Teddy Roosevelt’s son Quentin (1897–1918) was shot down nearby while flying a French SPAD plane during WWI.
Nearby is the stunning Château-Thierry American Monument, which commemorates the achievements of United States forces that fought in the region during World War I. In 1918, the 2nd and 3rd United States Infantry Divisions took part in heavy fighting around the area during the Second Battle of the Marne, which took place during the wider German spring offensive.
I had seen the Monument from a distance, but could never work out how to get there. There is no public transport. So I made a beeline to the Monument from Château-Thierry. This meant walking to the outskirts of the town, and then galloping up the rather steep hill through vineyards to the Monument.
I could not find a clear path, so I often walked through the vines. And I was never sure that I would make it. But I did, despite some pain in my legs.
The view from the monument is wonderful, looking out across the valley, seeing the vineyards and the neighbouring towns.
The monument itself is rather dramatic, with its double colonnade rising above a long terrace, its heroic sculptured figures representing the United States and France on the west facade, and a map showing American military operations in this region on its east facade.
Underneath the Monument is a small museum depicting America’s involvement in World War 1. The lady on the front desk claimed to have access to information about soldiers participating in World War 1.
So I enquired about my maternal grandfather who fought in the War. To my astonishment, she found a document providing his ID information, and printed it for me (see photo). My only regret was that I never took my mother to see the Monument on the occasion of her many visits to France.