The bombardments to which we have been subjected have caused many
casualties in the streets.
I most emphatically urge all persons to seek shelter in vaulted
cellars, and not to trust even to intervals in the firing long
enough to go out.
People of Dunkirk, we have to put up with the hazards of war, and
we are doing so courageously.
Our city may have to pay its tribute to the vandalism of our foes,
like other cities; we will keep our hearts serene and high.
The ruins alone will be German, the soil will remain French, and
after the Victory, we shall meet again, stronger, more determined,
and prouder than ever.
_Vive_ Dunkirk forever, and _Vive la France_!
And the best part of this ringing manifesto, as it seems to me, is that
it is all quite true. Dunkirk will live long, and so will France; and
after the victory the citizens will find themselves, we cannot doubt,
prouder and more resolute than ever.
In the immense burden which France is bearing, the sum of the service
of the young Americans has been, of course, quite infinitesimal. As the
most generous and sympathetic persons are always quickest to appreciate
the intentions of sympathy from others, it is pleasant to know that
the French, characteristically, have not been unmindful of even this
slight thing. But, it is truly said elsewhere, the real gainers from
this relationship have been the Americans. Not only is this true; it
seems to me there can be no surprise in it. There can be hardly any of
these men who did not set out from home, however unconsciously, for
his own good gain; hardly one who did not feel that if he could but
touch this memorable making of history with however small a hand, if
he could but serve in the littlest this so memorable cause, he would
have a possession to go with him all his days. _Quorum parva pars
fuerunt_; and--from the little Latin all schoolboys remember--_hæc olim
meminisse juvabit_. This is theirs; and it is enough. But should any
of them covet another reward than what they carry within themselves, I
think they have it if this log-book of their Service seems to show that
within their powers they have deserved the fine name here bestowed upon
them, the Friends of France.