Hopkinsville welcomed visitors from its new ‘sister city’ of Carentan Les Marais, France, Wednesday with a ceremony at University Heights Academy and tours of the city in the afternoon.
The delegation consisted of Carentan Mayor John-Pierre Lhonneur, his wife Genevieve, the deputy mayor, a member of the National Congress, the President of Europe and International Commission of Normandy, the President of the D-Day Landing Committee and around 30 French students. They came to celebrate not only becoming sister cities with Hopkinsville, but also to honor the role the 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell played in liberating Carentan during World War II.
Hopkinsville Mayor Carter Hendricks presented Mayor Lhonneur with a key to the city, saying their visit has not only been an example of international connections, but a reminder of the sacrifices made during World War II.
Mayor Lhonneur returned the favor by giving Mayor Hendricks a key to Carentan, saying the relationship between the two areas actually began 75 years ago when soldiers from the 101st landed on the beaches of Normandy.
Commander Maj. General Brian Winski says the soldiers’ heroic actions on D-Day that liberated Carentan would mark the beginning of the end of Nazi Germany.
At a formal press conference, Mayor Hendricks and Mayor Lhonneur says they will continue to push for connection and communication between the two cities, which share more in common than one might realize.
As for the student delegation, they were apparently enjoying their visit to Hopkinsville and America and were amazed at the differences between the cultures—even down to the portion sizes of food.
The initiative to connect the two areas as “sister cities” is through Sister Cities International, which was founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in an effort to create more community-led global relationship and hopefully avoid future national conflicts while promoting peace.
