Name/Title
StereographEntry/Object ID
2023.055.3.0172Description
A black and white stereograph. Image is an aerial view of the Arc de Triumph with a large crowd gathered, there is a parade passing through the monument. Above the image "W269 (Star)" is printed, below the image "18775 Victory Day Celebrations, July 14, 1919 - Arch of Triumph, Paris." is printed, to the left of the image "Keystone View Company COPYRIGHTED Manufacturers MADE IN U.S.A. Publishers" is printed, to the right of the image "Meadville, Pa., New York, N. Y., Chicago, Ill., London, England." is printed. On the reverse the following is printed:
18775
ARCH OF TRIUMP ON VICTORY DAY
On the day of triumph, July 14, 1919, by a superb touch of French sentiment, 1,000 wounded French soldiers, some armless, some hobbling on crutches, some in wheeled chairs, passed first of all in the mighty column of the Victory Parade as ti swung through the Arch of Triumph and down the Avenue des Champs-Fiysees. Just beyond the Arch, these men, crippled for France, passed by the great cenotaph, just vivible on our right, upon whose stummit throughout the previous night a fire had blazed in honor of the countless French dead of the war.
Behind the wounded came Marshal Foch and Marshal Joffre, and then General Pershing at the head of the American picked regiment sent down from the Army of Occupation in Germany for the occasion. Above the heads of our men fluttered in blazing array the battle flags of the A. E. F. Then came British and Belgian and Italian contingents with their battle flags; even a representative group of Japanese officers. And then the French poilus, headed by Marshal Petain.
With generous impartiality the hundreds of thosuands of French spectators lining the way greeted the troops of each nation with equal storms of applause, but who could blame them, when their own lads came by, if tears dimmed their eyes and almost choked the cheering voices? And the heart of every marching soldier of the other armies must have been moved by the knowledge that he had borne his share in bringing peace and safety not only to his own country but to this long-suffering, beautiful and heroic land of France, which for four long years had stood as the chief champion of civilization.
The Arch of Triumph was erected to commemorate the victories of the great Napoleon. It is a superb structure, the largest triumphal arch in the world.
Copyright by the Keystone View CompanyCollection
Photograph Collection