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(suspenseful music)

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- The modern US Marine Corps
was born here in Belleau Wood.

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So we're talking in June of 1918.

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Many of those marines,
they never left the woods,

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and many are still buried here,

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but it's part of the
heritage of the Marine Corps

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to remember that this is where,

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what you see now, the
eagle, globe, and anchor,

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all of the history,

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it actually is tied back in
large part to right here,

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right here in Balleau.

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This is the first place
they saw truly heavy,

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hard, sustained combat,
with heavy casualties.

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The Aisne-Marne American
Cemetery hold the remains

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of 2,289 American service members,

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of which just about 500 are US Marines.

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Now, that includes missing in action.

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It's not just numbers.

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Each one of those numbers is a story.

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Each one of those stories that,

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we're talking hopes and dreams

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of people who never got to go home

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and see their family again.

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(suspensful music)

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Back in the day, the family,

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they were given a choice.

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If they lost their loved one,
here on the battlefields,

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after the war was completed,

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and the treaties were signed,

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they were openly given a choice

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rather to repatriate their
loved ones back home.

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And 60%, approximately, actually chose

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to repatriate their loved ones.

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In a way, we work for
that 40% of families.

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They were given a choice,

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they chose with the promise
that the US government

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would maintain these sites in perpetuity.

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So in fact, we're a
total of 17 staff members

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that manage the three sites here.

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And dedicated staff,
sometimes multi-generational.

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There's a whole lot of
Franco-American relations

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taking place every single day

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when I come into the office here.

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I think it's a very easy
way to make a connection

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to perhaps a young marine,

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who's just joined the US Marine Corps,

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as they learn about the
history of the Marine Corps.

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Again, and in many ways, people say,

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and I do believe it's true,

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the modern US Marine Corps
was born here in Balleau Wood.

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(suspenseful music)