During the summer I was granted the opportunity to work as an intern at the American Battle and Monuments Commission (ABMC) located in Paris, France. The ABMC is a federal agency whose mission is to operate and maintain American military cemeteries and monuments overseas that honor those who died fighting in World War I and World War II.

Two of the highlights of my internship were opportunities to attend the Lafayette-Escadrille Memorial Day ceremony and the 75th D-Day celebration. The Lafayette-Escadrille Memorial commemorates the American pilots that flew under French command during World War I.  The D-Day celebration marked the 75th anniversary of the landing of allied troops on the beaches of Normandy, and the beginning of the end of the Nazi domination of Europe.

My day to day duties during the internship were extremely varied and including learning about the history and organization of the ABMC, processing budget requests for maintenance and operation of the cemeteries/memorials, and learning to catalogue and handle historic artifacts.  On one occasion, I was allowed to measure and catalogue the desk used by General John Pershing, the commander of American troops during World War I.  My internship provided great insight into various jobs available in the field of history that I was previously unaware of, and the experience of living in Paris for a summer was amazing.