Once again, we would like to express our sincere gratitude for your invaluable help, which has enabled us to retrace the history of our community and, above all, to honor the memory of those brave men who crossed the Atlantic to free Europe from Nazi tyranny.

Your fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, or great-uncles who fell on the soil of Saint-Fargeau-Ponthierry will forever remain part of our history and our remembrance.

The application is quite easy to use: whenever you see your mouse cursor change into a hand, it means you can explore another page, access additional information, or zoom in on a document or photograph. Please don’t hesitate to share your feedback if you notice any mistakes or technical issues. [You can also click on the circle with pointing finger at top right to reveal all interactive elements on the page. For photos with an arrowhead below them, click on the arrowhead to hear the relevant audio.]

This application will also be used by teachers in the local schools and middle school to help pass on this memory to younger generations.

With our warmest regards and heartfelt remembrance

This stele is made of Fontainebleau sandstone; we chose to leave it unworked and uncleaned so that it represents the passage of time. This stone will remain for several hundred years and will evolve with the changing seasons.

It is a local stone supplied by the last quarryman of the Fontainebleau forest, who still provides stone for the streets of Paris and the outdoor paving of the Palace of Versailles.

The location of the stele was chosen for several reasons:

It is situated on Patton Square, directly across from the bust of General Patton, which was inaugurated on July 3, 1949, by General de Gaulle, accompanied by General Patton’s son and Captain Freddy, also known as Captain Fercot (head of the local Resistance), …

Just below lies the crossing point of the first pontoon bridge built on August 23, 1944, by the 7th [Armored Division]