The American Society of Le Souvenir Francais, Inc., has honored Gloucester County’s Historic Resources Supervisor Robert Kelly with a 2024 “Medaille d’Honneur,” or Medal of Honor.
Le Souvenir Francais (French Remembrance) has several chapters dedicated to preserving the memory of French soldiers who lost their lives in war. They memorialize both soldiers whose names are known and those who were buried anonymously. It’s a solemn charge, which in certain ways parallels the work done at Arlington National Cemetery.
Kelly’s medal comes from a dual partnership he forged with this organization. He’s collaborated with it in his role as Vice President of The American Friends of Lafayette, and as a county museum employee working to memorialize the 1781 Battle of the Hook, which happened on the grounds of modern-day Abingdon Elementary School.
That cavalry battle was important to the siege of Yorktown during the Revolutionary War. Five French men who were fighting for American freedom either die...