On August 15th, 1944, a
Draguignan english teacher, Aimé Léocard, served as translator to
the American troops landing in the south of France (Operation Dragoon). Thus was born his undying gratitude
for these Americans, men and women, who came to liberate France. In 1968, to honor their memory, he created the Souvenir Franco Américain.
To this day we share his feeling of gratitude and we carry on his mission to honor the landing troups of 1944 through the SFA
.
Each year, on Memorial Day, along with the relatives of one of the buried soldiers we pay our
respect to the men and woman of the Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial
(American Battle Monuments Commission) in Draguignan. Through the family invited by the SFA we keep paying tributes to the memory of the
men and women who died during the landing in Provence.
