It has been somewhat forgotten, but during the First World War, the city of Brest hosted the headquarters of the American naval forces in Europe, and was the main port of landing and re-embarkation of American troops.
To commemorate these events, the American Battle Monuments Commission (AMBC) decided to build a memorial on the site. This was done from 1930 to 1932, and inaugurated in 1937.
During the Second World War, the tower was destroyed by the Germans in July 1941. There is no question of stopping there, so in 1958, the tower was rebuilt identically and inaugurated in 1960 by Michel Debré, Prime Minister of General De Gaulle.
This memorial was inscribed as a historic monument in 2015.
It is officially called the "Naval Monument", but the population more commonly calls it "the monument to the Americans", or "the pink tower" because of its colour, of course.
So, now, why the title "an American in Brest"? Well, quite simply, because the building and the surrounding garden are owned by the United States federal government, and managed by the AMBC, in short, a small piece of America in the centre of Brest !
