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Hello, everyone.

My name is Wesley Levisa from the History of the Second World War podcast.

Join me on a journey to the most destructive conflict in human history.

A journey that will take us not just through the famous campaigns and cataclysmic battles,

but also to the lesser well-known corners of the war that touched millions all over the

world as we try and answer not just the questions of what and where, but how and why.

You can find History of the Second World War on all major podcast platforms or at History

of the Second World War dot com sort of the early things that drew me to him as a historical

figure is he does have this sort of conflicted legacy where in the United States, as you

just said, like he's a hero to us, he was just a guy who comes over, helps us win independence

and then is a sort of a friend to the United States from there on out.

And there's really no reason for Americans not to consider Lafayette a very positive

historical figure. You go back to France and his participation in the French Revolution and

then politics even for many years and even decades after the fact. His record is much more mixed over

there.

When the first American troops arrive in France in World War I, it's actually July 4, 1917,

and the symbolism is missed on no one. French officials and the US army led by General John

Pershing decide that it would be a good thing to march through Paris. Now these were rough

recruits at this time, but they're welcomed. The front lines of the German armies were a mere

50 miles from Paris. The soldiers marched through the streets and then Pershing and his staff

visits the grave of the Marquis de Lafayette just outside of Paris. And those who know their

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