Villefranche-sur-mer v.10

Dear Friends,

Last night we attended a meeting of the Association Les Americains et La 6e Flotte à Villefranche-sur-mer of which we are now members.  As you may recall from earlier posts, the US 6th Fleet was home-ported in Villefranche from just after World War II until January 1967.  We had to leave when Charles de Gaulle took France out of NATO.  Given what I know about sailors on leave in foreign ports, I cannot imagine why Villefranche has warm feelings for the US Navy.  My experience was during the Vietnam war when the ammunition ship I was on would return to Subic Bay in the Philippines for a few days every six weeks or so to load up on ammunition before returning to Vietnam.  Olongapo City which was adjacent the base was nothing like Villefranche.  It was one bar after another with bouncers with automatic weapons.  So perhaps my idea of sailors on shore leave is different from the experience of the Villefranchois.

The meeting was very interesting and I am told quite like official French meetings, and I am afraid like many meetings I have been to at home.  The leader gave a very long official talk which outlined the purpose of the organization, all the people who had been helpful during the last year, all that had been accomplished and what would get done this year.  She spoke in very fast French and spoke quite softly so I missed everything except from time to time a translator would fill in with a very general summary.  Her report and thank yous was followed by the financial report.  The highlight of which was the fact that they had about 1,000 euros on hand and needed 43,000 euros for the event they are planning for next January.  While I thought that it would be a difficult task to raise all that money, the French seemed confident that it could be done.

The event that requires all the money is a big commemoration of the 6th Fleet's time in Villefranche which will be held next January, 50 years after the flag ship left Villefranche for the last time.  We will be here then and are looking forward to it.

After the financial report was done, the meeting got more interesting.  There was a speaker from the United States Navy League who spoke in English about how important the commemoration event is and how the Navy League will help both to raise awareness among sailors who were on the ships home-ported here but also to get the US Navy to participate.  The next speaker was an American who had actually served on one of the flag ships in Villefranche.  He spoke in very good french at a speed and with enunciation that I could understand.  You can learn more on their Facebook page (here).

The whole meeting took just under two hours and like many meetings I have been to could easily have been done in one hour.  Nevertheless it was a fun experience.  It is also a worthwhile project.  Amazingly enough we meet a man who grew up in Edina, but left after college and whose son lives  there now.  That makes three people with Minneapolis connections that we have met in Villefranche this month.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal