Lafayette Birthday Wreath Ceremony

September 6, 11:00 AM

The Doughboy Foundation will hold a formal wreath ceremony on Friday, September 6, 2024, at 1100 at the National WWI Memorial in Washington DC in honor of the birthday of Marquis de La Fayette and to recognize the bicentennial of his visit to the United States 1824-25.

The brief ceremony will be held by the statue of General John Pershing and remarks will be offered by Colonel Thibaud Thomas, Military Attaché, French Embassy, Mr. Chuck Shawm, Executive Director, American Friends of Lafayette, Mr. Edwin Fountain, General Counsel of the American Battle Monuments Commission and former Vice Chair, World War I Centennial Commission, Mrs. Pamela Rouse Wright, President General, Daughters of the American Revolution and Mr. Jari Villanueva, Executive Director, the Doughboy Foundation.

Also participating in the ceremony will be the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) Band Brass Quintet.

Schedule of Events

  • 10:45AM: Musical selections from the AEF Band Brass Quintet

  • 11:00AM: Introductory remarks by Jari Villanueva, Executive Director of the Doughboy Foundation

  • 11:05AM: Playing of the French and American National Anthems

  • 11:10AM: Remarks by Colonel Thibaud Thomas, Military Attaché French Embassy,
    Mr. Chuck Shawm, Executive Director, American Friends of Lafayette,
    Mr. Edwin Fountain, General Counsel of the American Battle Monuments Commission and former Vice Chair, World War I Centennial Commission,
    Mrs. Pamela Rouse Wright, President General, Daughters of the American Revolution

  • 11:18AM: Selection “Hail To The Spirit of Liberty” by John Philip Sousa from the The AEF Band Brass Quintet

  • 11:22AM: Reading of Colonel Charles Stanton’s remarks July 4, 1917, at Lafayette’s grave in Paris

  • 11:25AM: Wreaths at Pershing Statue followed by Aux Morts and Taps on bugle

  • 11:30AM: Conclusion

The ceremony is free and open to the public.

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