America has had a curious history with France. While we’re long distance buds now, over the years, it umm — got a little bumpy?

Sure, they gifted us a huge, beautiful copper statue of a lady we fawn over, showed us how to cut potatoes, taught us that cooking with immense amounts of butter makes food taste delicious and brought us styles of art we can hang in both our bathroom and our living room. But there were spats and boycotts and name changes that preceded these tutorials, but hey! You know what? Let’s forget all of that muck because a great American thing happened in the Paris-hugging, hexagonal nation recently, and surprisingly, it had nothing to do with a clay court and a tennis ball.

A Ford GT car bested a Ferrari to win the storied 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE Pro racing class, and as a result, the Star-Spangled Banner was blasted over the normally reserved southwestern French countryside.

Incredibly, it was 50 years to the day that Ford, led by Henry Ford II, topped Enzo Ferrari and his speedster back in 1966.

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Driver Dirk Müller competed 340 laps in the 84th running of the world’s most famous endurance race to take the victory.

He and teammates Joey Hand and Sébastien Bourdais kept the number 68 Ford GT ahead of the number 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 and Giancarlo Fisichella, who was at the wheel for the final hours of racing.

The number 68 Ford also captured the pole position in qualifying, with Müller notching the fastest time. It was a pole-to-pole finish for Ford, although there were periods during the race, especially overnight, when Ford ran second to the Ferrari. However, the GTs looked to be the cars to beat at Le Mans this year, based on qualifying results.

When you earn the ultimate honor of having your national anthem played for thousands in a foreign nation, it seems only fitting that you pay it back, and honor those who defend it each and every day.

And that’s precisely what Ford is doing with their Military Appreciation Program. Through it, they’re offering military service members special deals and discounts on some of their best-selling vehicles. All you have to do is click here to check it out (www.fordsalutesthosewhoserve.com).