A candle lit from France’s Flame of Liberty arrived at Arlington National Cemetery on May 24, just ahead of the Memorial Day holiday, and will burn there until June 6th — the 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord: D-Day.
French President Emmanuel Macron lit the candle 0n May 8 — from the Flamme de la Liberté at the Arc de Triomphe.
Le 8 mai 1945 marquait la fin d’une période de terreur indélébile. Il ouvrait au même moment une ère de paix que nous devons à tout prix préserver.
Que la flamme du Soldat inconnu ne cesse de raviver cette mémoire. pic.twitter.com/a4vO8woSkM
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 8, 2024
The candle was then carried by a special delegation from Paris to the U.K.; then across the Atlantic to New York Harbor aboard the Queen Mary 2; and finally to Arlington. France’s flame has been burning since 1923, when it was established as part of a memorial at their tomb of the unknown soldier shortly after the end of World War I.
On the eve of #MemorialDayWeekend, the Flame of Liberty arrived in Arlington.
It traveled (and was kept burning🕯) from Paris, via the UK, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of #DDay & to thank the British and American forces who helped liberate our country. #LestWeForget
🇫🇷🇺🇸🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/VSzuPBuBim— Aurélie Bonal (@AurelieBonal) May 25, 2024
The “Flame of Liberty” effort is honoring the 80th anniversary of D-Day by carrying a light lit in the eternal flame that burns for France’s Unknown Soldier. The lantern has passed through the UK and NY and will arrive at the US Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington today. pic.twitter.com/Vi8xlW43AY
— Laurent Bili (@FrenchAmbUS) May 24, 2024
Today at @ArlingtonNatl the Flame of Liberty – which has traveled from France – was transferred to the Tomb Guards to safeguard until June 6th – the 80th Anniversary of D-Day! @franceintheus Ambassador Bili and Defense Attache Jardin attended. #NeverForget @RobertIrvine pic.twitter.com/VJoF7vY1bR
— Phyllis Wilson (@wilson_phyllis) May 25, 2024
Helen Ayer Patton, granddaughter of General George S. Patton, was part of the delegation — and she told The Daily Wire that the journey itself was not without surprises.
The week at sea passed pleasantly enough, she said, and the views of the Statue of Liberty and Freedom Tower as they approached were stunning.
When the Queen Mary docked, even the ship’s staff commented on how smooth the trip had been — one of the smoothest journeys ever. But just as they began to disembark, the skies opened up and a deluge swept through the city. They were forced to return to the ship to weather the storm — a move that Patton said may have literally saved lives.
They were scheduled to hold a ceremony on shore immediately after they docked, but the tents that were set up to accommodate the ceremony collapsed in the storm. If the delegation had already been under the tents — a delegation that included several D-Day veterans, one of whom is over 100 years old — someone could have been seriously injured or worse.
Patton shared the same story on her Facebook page a short time later, concluding, “Thank you to the powers that be for restoring good weather just in time when we needed it … God winks!”
