article_snippet.sent: we Americans forget that -- in the wellsprings of our nation -- France bore the torch of liberty alongside our, our old ally has launched a reminder from across the Atlantic's waves.
article_snippet.sent: President Obama, in a letter to congratulate the launch, called France "our Nation's oldest ally."
article_snippet.sent: "For more than two centuries, the United States and France have stood united in the freedom we owe to one another," President Obama wrote.
article_snippet.sent: Since 1886, that gift from France -- also a reminder of our common bond -- has been America's quintessential national symbol of freedom.