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Jan 31, 2024 · A bilingual inscription completed the design: “Gratitude Train, Train de la reconnaissance française.” André Picard, who chaired the National Organizing Committee, was pleased with the result: “The wagons that once carried weary men of war now carry gifts of peace.”
Andre Picard, a French railroad worker and war veteran, suggested the creation of the French Gratitude (Merci) Train. To build the Merci train, he suggested the use of 49 WWI era boxcars, known as 40 & 8s.
Sep 28, 2018 · Andre Picard, a French veteran and railroad worker, organized the Merci Train to do just that. He said its contents were a gesture of his country’s sincere affection for "our American...
Background. The idea to send a "thank you" gift to the United States for the $40 million in food and other supplies sent to France and Italy in 1947 came from a French railroad worker, and World War II veteran, named Andre Picard. [1]
Andre Picard, a French veteran of World War II, was one of the originators of the idea of the Gratitude Train. An ocean freighter arrived in New York harbor on 3 Feb. 1949 carrying 49 small French boxcars filled with gifts.
May 8, 2024 · They were: André PICARD, general secretary and originator of the “Merci Train” with Commander Guy DE LA VASSELAIS; Louis CAST, Committee president; and Maurice ARTIGUENAVE, treasurer, all railroad veterans of World War I, members of the French Resistance in World War II and officials of the French Gratitude Train National Committee, en ...
Nov 16, 2023 · Early in 1948, a French railroad employee and war veteran named André Picard suggested that a vintage railroad car could be filled with gifts of appreciation and sent to the United States. After his idea was publicized, it generated an enthusiastic response that led to the expansion of his plan.
