Revisiting Orleans • May 6-8, 2022

A memorable slate of activities and tours including the
dedication of a memorial plaque at the site of the Riley Fields baseball complex, named in honor of Cpt. James D. Riley who died in a tragic traffic accident in Olivet while deploying to duty in Lebanon. Cpt. Riley was heavily involved in youth baseball and was responsible for the Orleans team that won the European championship in 1958. Thousands of American kids played Little League baseball on Riley Fields during the 1950s and 60s.

Also that weekend, the annual Joan of Arc celebrations in Orleans.

May 6th

Morning:
Visit to the “La Foret” High school.

Afternoon:
Guided tour of Orleans,
including St Jean-de-la-Ruelle,

Coligny Caserne, St Jean-de-Braye,
La Chapelle Hospital, Saran Airfield,
Harbor Barracks, Olivet...

 Evening:
Dinner in La Chapelle St Mesmin.

May 7th

Morning:
Riley Fields Ceremony, visit of
baseball installations, and reception

Afternoon:
Visit Orleans High School building (pre-1960)
and other selected locations on Maison Fort, now
the home of the 12e Regiment de Cuirassiers
(French 2nd Amored Brigade).

Evening:
Illumination of the Cathedral, Joan of Arc celebration (tribune seating will be provided for you).

May 8th

Morning:
May 8th Military
Commemoration Ceremony
&
Visit to St Jean de la Ruelle
and reception with the neighborhood association.

Afternoon: 
May 8th Military Parade

Riley Fields

Update:

The search is over.
This 1966 aerial photo, discovered
by Gilles Heccan, revealed the
location of the fields, long
overgrown and forgotten until rediscovered in late 2021.

Maison Fort

Baseball
Diamonds

Our sincere thanks
to the officers and men
of the 12e Regiment de Cuirassiers for their enthusiastic assistance

in uncovering the remnants of Riley Fields and sponsoring the plaque ceremony on May 7.

I’ve been searching for Riley Fields for many
years, and thanks to the Orleans American
School Former Students Facebook group,
I found it. At least, the general location of where
it used to be. Thank you, everyone.

Riley Fields was named after my father
Captain James D. Riley who died in the terrible
crash in Olivet in 1958. The troops were on their way to Lebanon when the accident occurred in the early morning hours of July 17. The accident shocked and saddened the tight-knit military community as well as their French neighbors and co-workers.

On May 30th 1959, the American Youth Activities of the Orleans Area Command dedicated their recently completely Little League Baseball Fields as a memorial to him for his devotion to organizing and coaching baseball. The fields were constructed in such a manner that the home plate of each of the four fields face the memorial adorned with a bronze plaque and flanked by the French and American flags.

It appears that Riley Fields has disappeared and no one knows what happened to it.

If you have any information about Riley Fields or the crash in Olivet that you would like to share, please contact me.

                                                                     Elizabeth Riley

Do you have photos or memories of Camp Cazaux? Please share them:

Lake Cazaux is 34 miles southwest of Bordeaux and 275 miles southwest
of Orleans. Thank you Linda G. Rowell for sharing these photos and map of the camp, and Susan Juister for the Handbook.

Other American Overseas Schools   Did we miss your school? Tell us about it.

Orleans    Orleans Facebook    Chateauroux    Dreux   
Paris    Poitiers    Verdun    Fontainbleau   Toul    Rochefort    Rochefort

Frankfurt    Frankfurt    Heidelberg    Karlsruhe    Nurnberg    Stuttgart   
Wiesbaden    Zweibrucken    Zweibrucken    University of Maryland, Munich    Kaiserslautern

Lakenheath   
Bushy Park

Yokohama High School    Yokohama High School    Zama   
Kyoto American School

Livorno    Madrid/Torrejon   
Aviano    Brindisi    Vicenza