MARSHAL FOCH WELCOMED TO ST. LOUIS, PRAISES CITY
St. Louis, Missouri (JFK+50) On November 3, 1921, Marshal Ferdinand Foch* arrived here in St. Louis for an "all-day visit." The Generalissimo, joined later by General John J. Pershing, "was given a rousing reception."
Foch's party was escorted to the St. Louis Club for breakfast where Mayor Kiel gave an official welcome. Marshal Foch, speaking in French, praised the role the city of St. Louis played in the Great War**.
*Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929) was Supreme Allied Commander in World War I.
**St. Louis's Camp Gillard trained personnel to build, operate & maintain a light railway system to supply the front lines.
The city was also home of the Missouri Aeronautical Society Balloon School, Scott Field aviation station & Barnes Hospital which supplied volunteer doctors & nurses during WWI.
SOURCES
"Generalissimo Lauds Part the City Played in the World War," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., November 3, 1921, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"World War I and St. Louis," www.aboutstlouis.com/
