The American Monument

This gigantic 26-metre high monument was erected at the exit from Meaux near the Great War Museum.

« One can still hear the silent voices of the heroic sons of France. They braved everything, gave everything, over the course of long days full of snares, stalked by Death… They stemmed the tide of imminent disaster and their supreme devotion made the world shudder”.
Marshall Joffre
This gigantic 26-metre high monument was erected at the exit from Meaux near the Great War Museum.
In the United States, the victory of the Marne thrilled every French sympathizer in the country. Following the victory of the Allies, the idea of building a commemorative stature on the spot was proposed and began to take shape through a competition of proposals, the final decision being made on the basis of models; the winner was an American, Frederick Mac Monnies. Completion of the project took 14 years; and the finished American Monument was not unveiled until September 1932.
The sculptor depicted the tragedy of 1914 in the form reminiscent of the purest creations of Antiquity. France, the central character, resembles both a Spartan mother, ready to sacrifice her sons for the good of the nation, and, simultaneously, grief-stricken and overwhelmed, struggling to rise, heroically, her heart bleeding. Her face is a long cry of anguish, a heart-rending appeal, launched above the panic of arms, the cry of alarm of a nation which must gather all its strength. That is why the monument has been referred to as “Tearful Liberty”.

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