NPR

At Versailles Palace, An American Looks For Clues To Family History

Maureen Hargrave's aunt and uncle were married at Versailles in 1944. "She's piecing together family history, and I'm piecing together the history of a very special moment," says the palace archivist.
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's driver, Elsie Hargrave, and Sgt. Michael McKeogh, his orderly, were married at Versailles during World War II. The Battle of the Bulge broke out the same day, so Eisenhower had to leave the reception early.

When Maureen Hargrave, a 71-year-old American who lives in San Diego, wrote an email to the chateau of Versailles in January, she wasn't sure she would hear back.

"I went to the Versailles website," she says, "and pulled down the link, and just wrote, 'On December 16th, 1944, Elsie Hargrave, my aunt, married Michael McKeogh, Eisenhower's aide de camp. She was Eisenhower's driver, and they were married in Marie Antoinette's chapel. Can I come see it, please?' "

Hargrave is referring to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during the Second World War. And Marie Antoinette, of course,

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