On April 21, 2018, the VFW New Haven Post 12150 is hosting the sold-out Battle of Seicheprey Dinner, a centennial commemoration of Connecticut’s 102nd Infantry Regiment stopping German stormtroopers in the Great War. The post was contacted by Gérard ANDRE the mayor of Seicheprey. We are posting this correspondence in the spirit of camaraderie and remembrance.
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From: Gerard ANDRE <….@wanadoo.fr>
Date: 2018-04-17 16:09 GMT-04:00
Subject: Battle of SEICHEPREY
To: …@vfwnewhaven.org
[Google Translation]
Bonjour,
I am Gérard ANDRE the Mayor of SEICHEPREY. I would like to contact you because I find by researching on the web that you organize, Saturday, April 21, a commemorative evening of the Battle of Seicheprey.
We are a very small French village, and we are also organizing a commemoration for the centenary of the First World War on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd April.
We will pay tribute to the young soldiers of the 102nd Regiment of the 26th DI who paid a heavy price to defend our village. On Sunday we will make a bus tour, with a historian, to understand how the battle of SEICHEPREY unfolded. We will end our visit to the American Cemetery to pay tribute to all those who died during this one.
It is very moving to see that you too continue to honor this battle. It is important to perpetuate the memory of these tragic struggles. We must pass on to the younger generation and explain to them and teach them what happened during this war.
The “Connectcicut doughtboys” will be represented by Mr. Jeffrey HAYS, Superintendent of THIAUCOURT American Cemetery. I will not fail to mention your commemoration during our ceremonies. I copied your poster and it will be exposed this weekend to SEICHEPREY.
In the name of the commune of SEICHEPREY I thank all the fighters coming from the USA and more particularly those of Connecticut. We are forever grateful to them.
Thousands of kilometers separate SEICHEPREY and NEW HAVEN, but next Saturday we will be all together in memory.
Our best feelings to all veterans of NEW HAVEN
Gérard ANDRE
Seicheprey, FranceMayor Andre,Thank you very much for your eloquent correspondence. I have shared your letter with my comrades in the Veterans of Foreign Post (VFW) 12150 in New Haven, Connecticut.
Additionally, I have posted it on our Facebook Page. We are a new VFW post, with combat veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, with a few who served in Vietnam.
We are proud to commemorate the Battle of Seicheprey and to honor the sacrifices of the soldiers and civilians in the Great War. For us, the battle of Seicheprey is especially poignant because the National Guard solders in the 102nd Infantry Regiment of the 46th Yankee Division were from New Haven and the surrounding towns in Connecticut. Before sailing to France, the 102nd mustered and trained at the Yale University athletic fields. The World War Flagpole occupies the central point of the New Haven Green and every Memorial Day the town and veterans lay wreaths there in memory of our war dead.
On Saturday night April 21, we will put on our formal military uniforms. I will read your email to the guests, and we will raise a toast to our friends in France, to the brave sacrifices of the Connecticut doughboys in the Battle of Seicheprey, and to our fellow veterans who fought for freedom and liberty in the Great War.
To borrow your words Mayor Andre, while thousands of kilometers separate Seicheprey and New Haven, we will be together in memory on Saturday.
I wish you success with your centennial commemoration and best wishes to the citizens of Seicheprey.
Sincerely,
Charles M. Pickett
VFW New Haven, Connecticut
SM: Facebook.com/VFWNewHaven
Twitter: VFWNewHaven
EM: VFWNewHaven@gmail.com
WB: www.vfwnewhaven.org
New Haven CT 06515
Gérard ANDRE