Qui est cette - Who is this?

Here is a one of the few family photos that I have from my grandmother Marguerite.

She was French and her family name was Chevallier. She grew up with her mother and sister in the village of Graffigny-Chemin, near Bourmont. Her father died when she was still young. She married my grandfather shortly after the First World War and left Graffigny. Her mother lived in Graffigny until her death.

Who is this? What are the medals? Can someone determine the unit he was from and rank?




Qui est le soldat sur la photo?

Ma grand-mère était française. Le nom de famille était Chevallier. Elle a habité à Graffigny-Chemin, près de Bourmont, France. Je crois que son père est mort avant la Première Guerre mondiale. Ma grand-mère Marguerite a épousé mon grand-père, un officier américain, après la guerre. Mon arrière grand-mère a vivre dans Graffigny jusqu'à sa mort.

July 22, 1944

World War II touched the small village of Graffigny-Chemin on the night of July 22 1944 war.

A British Lancaster airplane returning from a bombing mission crashed in a thick fog into the hills outside of Graffigny. Thirteen airmen died in the crash and were buried later in the village cemetery. Three airmen survived the crash. Two were seriously wounded and treated by a doctor from the neighboring town of Bourmont. As their wounds were serious, they were taken to the Germans in hopes with the hope they would be treated well. The two airmen were never heard from again.

A third airman Canadian Paul Bell was hidden in the village of Graffigny-Chemin. He was then escorted to Switzerland by the French. He returned to England and rejoined his unit. Sadly, he died in the liberation of Holland.

Although the plane burned on impact, its radio transmitter, weapons, and some explosives remained intact. Villagers of Graffigny-Chemin removed these before the Germans arrived. On discovering this, the German commander took hostages and threatened to execute the hostages and burn the village if the plane's contents were not returned.

Living in Graffigy-Chemin was the widow of a German colonel who had died in 1913. She interceded with the German commander for the return of the hostages and cancellation of the order to destroy the village.

The story is by way of Dominique Martin.

Perdu dans la traduction

Je m'excuse pour les peu entrées au cours des quelques derniers mois. Je suis retourné à l'école pour apprendre le français. Alors que le français est une langue belle, elle est pour moi celui qui est difficile à prononcer. Je ferai de mon mieux.

Postcards Graffigny-Chemin, l'eglise de St Elophe and St Christophe de Graffigny

 L'eglise de St Élophe et St Christophe a Graffigny

church of Saint Élophe and St Christophe in Graffigny, 1909

This 1909 postcard celebrates the beatification and festival of Jeanne d'Arc  by Pope Pius X. Pictured is the church of Saint Élophe and St Christophe in Graffigny, two unidentified girls stand watching a group of men.

The church is named for the saints, Saint Élophe and St. Christophe. The statutes to the left and right of the entrance are respectively, St. Elophe and St. Christopher. Saint Élophe was a French martyr of the 4th century who was decapitated. St. Christopher is remembered for his act of carrying Jesus across a dangerous river, and, so became the patron saint of travelers. The church is located on the ancient Roman Way (Voie Romaine), travelling north toward Toul, one arrives at the way-station, Soulosse-sur-St-Elophe.

My grandmother was French and she grew up in the village of Graffingy-Chemin, in a house across the street from the church of St. Elophe and St. Christopher. Marguerite Chevallier Meine and her sister Paula grew up in Graffigny.  I am not certain about the birth year, but think that Maurguerite was born in 1890 and Paula in 1888.[Check this.]

The First World War came to Graffigny-Chemin in 1914. My grandfather Madison Pearson came in January of 1918 as part of the American Expeditionary Force and the Second Division. He was billeted in the village, injured near there, and nursed back to health by my grandmother.

They fell in love, married, and returned to the United States.

joan of arc

Saint Joan of Arc, Jeanne d'Arc (ca. 1412 – 1431) is a national heroine of France. A peasant girl, she was born in Doremy in eastern France. Claiming divine guidance, she led a French army against English forces and secured several important victories during the Hundred Years War. Her victories helped make possible the coronation of Charles VII as King of France. She was captured by the Burgundians, sold to the English, tried, and burned at the stake at the age of nineteen.

Inspired by her example, the French rallied. Four years later in 1435, French forces took Paris. Thereafter, the French succesively pushed back the English forces, and in 1450 at the battle of Formigny on the coast of Normandy, the English were decisively beaten. A year later in 1451, the French captured Bordeaux. Two years later in 1453, at Castillon of 1453, the last battle was fought between the French and the English during the Hundred Years' War.

The English had now lost all of their continental possessions with the exception of the port of Calais.

Time travels

You can go from here to there in seconds.

Here is the computer that you are sitting in front of and there is Graffigny-Chemin, where Marguerite Chevallierwas raised and where she met James Madison Pearson.

Google takes you to the church across the street from where she lived. Observe the carriage house and gardens of her house. In my view, the number 52150 appears on top of the house. A path to the left of the image leads to the hill where I took the view of the village. (See wikipedia entry on Graffigny-Chemin.) The path leading out of the village to the top of the picture goes to Bourmont where during World War I, the Second Infantry Division was originally headquartered. The path leading to the right is the ancient Roman Way from Langres to Toul near the birthplace of Joan of Arc.

Time travels. The past is the compression of all that has happened, waiting to be revealed.

here is a mystery for you

Here is a mystery for you. I think I have the answer, but I don't want to give it away. The door at the front entrance has the initials C & J over the doorway. What do the letters stand for?