Annual Activities
Rochambeau Chapter, NSDAR, organizes four quarterly meetings each year, as well as an annual dinner or lunch. The annual meeting is held in the first quarter of the year.
Speakers are regularly invited to speak on these occasions. Some of the recent topics include: the House of Education of the Legion of Honor (Saint Denis); memories of the air transport pilot Geneviève de Galard, known as L’Ange de Den Bien Phu (1954); Tocqueville’s America; the Fulbright Foundation in France; and the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of France.
The chapter also organizes other informal gatherings. One recent example was the Women’s Forum, which was launched in 2011 to promote informal exchanges between members on themes relating to family, genealogy, professional life, leisure, health, etc. Another example includes regular contacts with “Junior” members of the chapter. The chapter also organizes informal social meetings when members and associate members from abroad visit Paris.
The chapter also organizes social outings every year to visit historical sites around Paris and around France. These outings generally include C.A.R. members and their families. Some recent examples of such outings are: the NSDAR memorial site at Tilloloy (Somme); the sites commemorating the Great War and the Second World War in the Meuse and Normandy; the Desert of Retz, in Chambourcy; the Castle of Saint-Germain-en-Laye; and historical monuments in Paris commemorating French and Americans who fought in the American War of Independence (1775-1783).
Along with American veterans, public authorities, and other Franco-American associations, chapter members regularly participate in commemorative ceremonies held throughout the year in the Paris region such as Memorial Day (the last weekend in May); American Independence Day (July 4); tribute to the victims of the “9/11” attacks; and Armistice Day (November 11). Members residing in other regions of France, such as Normandy, represent the Chapter at local Memorial Day ceremonies.
Special Activities
In addition to at trimestrial bilingual newsletter for its members, new communication tools are being developed to facilitate exchanges with the chapter’s members and associate members worldwide. With respect to the bicultural heritage of Rochambeau Chapter, NSDAR, written documents are often bilingual.
In France, Rochambeau Chapter, NSDAR, is an associate member of the Cercle France-Amériques, as well as a member of the American Overseas Memorial Day Association (AOMDA). Over the years, Rochambeau Chapter, NSDAR, has actively supported the National Museum of French-American Cooperation at Blérancourt (near Compiègne, France).
Rochambeau Chapter, NSDAR, organizes cultural exchanges to promote French/American friendship in France, in association with the SAR in France and the Society of the Cincinnati in France. Rochambeau Chapter, NSDAR, also welcomes informal exchanges with other organizations in France, such as the French Heritage Society and the Fulbright Foundation in France.
Rochambeau Chapter, NSDAR, supports NSDAR programs in the United States, particularly in the areas of genealogy, history, and education.
Rochambeau Chapter, NSDAR, has made special contributions in cases of exceptional events. For instance, following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Rochambeau Chapter, NSDAR, and the C.A.R. in France donated funds to purchase bilingual school books for primary schools in the New Orleans, Louisiana area.