De Rochambeau

On The Presentation Of An American Banner To Camp Rochambeau By The Marquise De Rochambeau At Tours, France, June 1, 1918     Here is a picture I carry away     On memory's wall.    A green June day,     A golden sun in an amethyst sky,     And a beautiful banner floating as high     As the lofty spires of the city of Tours,     And a slender Marquise, with a face as pure     As a sculptured saint:    while staunch and true     In new-world khaki and old-world blue,     Wearing their medals with modest pride,     Her stalwart bodyguard stand at her side.     Simple the picture; but much it may mean     To one who reads into and under the scene,     For there, in that opulent hour and weather,     Two great Republics came closer together;     A little nearer came land to land     Through the magical touch of a woman's hand.     And once again as in long ago     The grand old name of de Rochambeau     Shines forth like a star, for our world to see -     Our Land of the Brave, and our Home of the Free.