Pair-ee

I can't see a photo of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris without thinking of my dear friend, the late Dr. John C. Stevens, ACU's eighth president, who died last year. One of the most iconic photos in American history is of 28th Infantry troops during a victory parade in Paris after the city’s liberation from the Germans, with the famous Arc de Triomphe in the background, signifying the city's liberation from Germany's Hitler. Front and center in the image is our own Dr. John. He was a chaplain in World War II during the landing at Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, and was one of George S. Patton's charges. No one was more proud of his wartime service to his country, and his stories of traveling Europe – he enlisted, saying he saw no reason to miss a good war if they were going to have one – were mesmerizing. He taught history at ACU for 50 years, his classes filling quickly with students who admired his ability to make the past come alive with lectures based in large part on his own personal experience as well as research. Pictured here are the Avenue des Champs-Élysées today, in 1945 as Stevens led the way, and a photo of Dr. John he had made in Luxembourg, just north of France, to send home to his mother. I have a print of the famous liberation scene in my office, signed, "With warmest regards, John C. Stevens," and I treasure it.