Alexandria Gazette Covers D-Day Event

Alexandria Remembers D-Day

Speakers and screening mark 68 years since Normandy invasions.

By Montie Martin

Friday, June 1, 2012

Alexandria — On June 6, 1944, American and Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy and began operations that would eventually lead to the liberation of France and the rest of Europe. The scars of the invasion can be felt 68 years on.

The Alexandria/Caen Sister City Committee plans to mark D-Day on Wednesdy, June 6, with an evening of commemorative speakers, as well as a screening of the documentary “A Hero’s Welcome.”

“The film expresses how relevant the France and American connection still is,” said Jennie Reading, vice-chair of the ACSCC. “School children annually take flowers out to the American cemetery, it’s very much a living history there.”

The gratitude of the French is all the more startling as liberation also meant near total destruction. “Caen was on the main road through France, and it was hoped to cut the supply line,” said Redding. “It was an important and strategic move.”

When the city could not be taken by force, the decision was made to have it carpet-bombed. Nearly 70 years of peace has brought change to Caen and Normandy.

The relationship between Alexandria and Caen took shape under the stewardship of Mayor Charles Beatley, who first visited the city as a pilot in the 1970s. Today the sister city committee looks to foster closer ties by promoting awareness of important cultural relations.

“We’ve flagged D-Day as our signature event, and moving forward we’re hoping to grow it. Ideas for next year that are being passed around are city-wide capture the flag or paintball,” said James Lewis, a spokesman for the ACSCC. “Whatever we do, it will maintain the reverence due to D-Day.”

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2012/jun/01/alexandria-remembers-d-day/

Please join the Alexandria-Caen Sister City Committee for our D-Day Memorial Film Screening

Commemorative D-Day Movie Screening

“A Hero’s Welcome:
A Story of Friendship, Gratitude, and Remembrance”

Wednesday, June 6th
7:00-9:00 p.m.

The Lyceum: Alexandria’s History Museum
201 S. Washington Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314

Presented by the Alexandria-Caen Sister City Committee

Please join the Alexandria-Caen Sister City Committee (ACSCC) in its second annual D-Day celebration and memorial featuring the acclaimed documentary film, “A Hero’s Welcome.” The film explores the impact of D-Day, sixty years later, on the Franco-American relationship through interviews with veterans, French citizens and American visitors to Normandy.

Alexandria’s sister city, Caen, was the most important inland objective of the D-Day invasion as Caen controlled a road junction with direct highway to Paris. Today, Caen is the key city in France for visits to the Normandy landing beaches and D-Day sites.

This film screening is part of the ACSCC’s ongoing effort to increase knowledge about and interest in the trans-Atlantic relationship between Alexandria and its sister city in Caen.

FLYER: Alexandria-Caen D-Day Memorial Screening

Alexandria-Caen Committee Hosts Student Exchange

The Alexandria-Caen Sister City Committee is planning to send a delegation of approximately six students to Caen and Paris June 20-30.

The students will be hosted by a French family for the week in Caen. The following October the students and their family will host a visiting student (Oct 27 – Nov 4.)

Students must be a resident of Alexandria, be in 10th or 11th grade and be enrolled in French classes.

If interested, please email lorajj@aol.com for an application and attend the interest meeting at Shirlington Library on April 16th at 7pm.

French Teens Visit TC Williams

French Teens Visit TC Williams

City Welcomes Back Youth Ambassador

City Welcomes Back Youth Ambassador
Alexandria and Caen exchange students.

By Montie Martin of the Alexandria Gazette-Packet
Friday, September 16, 2011

Marie-Claire Mandolia, a rising junior at the University of Mary Washington, spent the month of July representing Alexandria as part of a sister city exchange program with Caen, France.

“I provided guided tours of Caen’s historic city hall,” said Mandolia. “Caen was the seat of power for William the Conqueror, and was one of the first cities liberated by the Allies in WW II.”

The relationship between historic Alexandria and Caen took shape under the stewardship of Mayor Charles Beatley, who first visited the city as a pilot in the 1970s. As a result, the Alexandria/Caen relationship is more than 30 years old.

“The basic purpose of the exchange program is to provide person-to-person contact,” said Kathleen Barnett, chairwoman of the Alexandria/Caen Sister City Committee. “We want someone who can put a face to Alexandria, while also benefiting as an individual from the experience.”

In the spirit of cooperation, Caen sent a representative to Alexandria for the month of July as well. Yohann Toude, a second-year engineering student, worked at the City’s Information Technology department.

“I discovered what it was like to work in America,” said Toude. “The sister city program is a great occasion for students like me to come to the USA, I wouldn’t be able to come without the internship.”

During his month-long stay, Toude was able to absorb the history, culture and people of Alexandria. “One thing is true about the USA, the people are very friendly,” said Toude. “I also had a chance to go to some concerts. I went to Tiffany’s Tavern for Burgers & Bluegrass. Bluegrass is really, really good! We have a French equivalent, old French music, but it is less popular than bluegrass in the USA.”

The experience of living in another culture, rather than simply touring, has helped make the sister city relationship beneficial for both sides of the Atlantic. “The importance of the sister city exchange program is on a person-to-person level,” said Mandolia. “It facilitates respect and understanding; it allows us to find common ground across cultures.”

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=354288&paper=59&cat=104

Videos from the Committee’s D-Day Event

If you missed our D-Day events this past weekend, you really missed a rare treat. Col. John Marr spoke about his, shall we say, adventure jumping on D-Day. From landing in a flooded field to his experiences with E Company to members of his platoon capturing 6 German soldiers without an empty gun,  Col. Marr shared about his first few hours in Normandy.

Mayor Euille attended the event and shared about his experiences in Caen, why our sister city is so special to Alexandria and a bit of history on how we became sister cities. This video is a bit lengthy at just over 9 minutes but it is worth the time to watch!

If you missed the event and would like to learn more about WWII and D-Day, I highly recommend the TV miniseries Band of Brothers. The series will take you through WWII as seen by E Company and the 506th Infantry Regiment (this was Marr’s regiment).

If you learned something from our videos of Col. Marr and Mayor Euille, the Committee asks that you share them with others who may be interested in learning more about Caen, D-Day and WWII.

Be sure to mark your calendars for the first week of June 2012 as we will be hosting events commemorating D-Day again. It is rumored that we may even have some special guests from Caen join us!

Commemorating D-Day in Alexandria

This past weekend, the Committee commemorated D-Day with first hand experiences of Colonel John Marr.  Over the next few days we will be posting videos and photos from the event. Here are two photos and a video as a sneak peak:

The Committee and Mayor Euille

The Committee, Mayor Euille and Colonel John Marr