Queen Mary 2 Arrives in New York City

Cunard's flagship Queen Mary 2 arrived today in New York carrying the Eternal Flame after a seven-day North Atlantic Crossing. Following the ship's arrival, a commemorative ceremony was held onboard Queen Mary 2 by the Consulate General of France, La Flamme de la Liberté, and Cunard honoring the WWII Normandy Landings of 1944 and marking the 80th Anniversary of D-Day.

In a ceremony marking the arrival of the Eternal Flame in New York to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. Shown left to right: Queen Mary 2 Captain Andrew Hall; Young French representative Lou Bordet-Guillou and Hervé Racat from La Flamme de la Liberté; General Patton’s granddaughter Helen Ayer-Patton; Commissioner for International Affairs, City of New York, Edward Mermelstein; and French Ambassador to the U.S. Laurent Bili.

Those in attendance included Mr. Laurent Bili, Ambassador of France to the United States; Mr. Damien Laban, Acting Consul General of France in New York; Mr. Edward Mermelstein, Commissioner for International Affairs, City of New York; Queen Mary 2 Captain Andrew Hall; General Patton's granddaughter, Helen Ayer-Patton; and WWII veterans from The Greatest Generations Foundation.

The Eternal Flame, which has been burning since November 11, 1923, on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe, was collected on May 8. From there, a group of 12 young French ambassadors carried the flame from Paris to Cherbourg where it crossed the English Channel to Portsmouth, a key embarkation port for the Normandy Invasion. Thereafter the flame proceeded the short distance to Southampton where it boarded Queen Mary 2 to cross the Atlantic and arrive in New York. The ambassadors will escort the flame to Arlington Cemetery to lay it down at an official ceremony on May 24, and let it burn until June 6, 2024.