The ABMC Centennial Commemorations at the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne American Cemeteries on 22 and 23 September 2018, respectively, provided a large crowd of Americans in Lorraine, France and a wonderful opportunity for networking and broadening one’s horizons.  With this in mind, webmaster Randy Gaulke and German tour guide, Markus Klauer, teamed up to sponsor a Meet and Greet Dinner on Friday night, 21 September that became one of their favorite events of the year.  The location selected was the Hotel-Restaurant du Commerce in Aubréville, France, just a few kilometers behind the jump-off lines of 26 September 1918.

The Meet and Greet Dinner attracted twenty-four guests–mostly Americans, but also several Europeans.  The Americans represented several states and several areas of interest.  A pre-dinner cocktail hour was included to maximize networking efforts.  This was followed by multi-course dinner prepared and served by owners Laurent and Patricia Labrosse.  Randy and Markus each gave a presentation between courses.  Markus’ presentation outlined the Imperial German Army command structure in the Meuse-Argonne and Randy’s presentation used first-hand accounts to bring 26 September 1918 to life.  Discussions were lively throughout the entire event; and the goal of bringing a diverse group of people together to exchange information and contacts was achieved!

A few photos of the event are shown below.

Photo credit: Georg Snatzke

Photo credit: Georg Snatzke

Hosts Randy Gaulke and Markus Klauer. Photo Credit: Georg Snatzke

Photo credit: Dave Gaddis

Group photo. Photo credit: David Gaddis