Letter to General de Gaulle

June, 1945

The French regiment, Normandie-Niemen, returns to its country equipped, that is to say, with its aeroplanes fully equipped, and for its itinerary will follow the Elbe in a westerly direction.

I thought it essential to bestow on the regiment the materials which it has courageously utilized, and with much success, on the oriental front. May these materials be a modest present from the Soviet Union aviation to France, and the symbol of the friendship between our two peoples.

I beg you to accept my thanks for the work that this regiment has done on the front in the battle against the German armies. J. Stalin

("Soviet News," No. 46, Paris. June 1945)