At just 21 years old, Athens native and Army Pfc. Reed Nydegger has already represented his country by marching in the Bastille Day parade in Paris and met two presidents.

Reed is a paratrooper for the 173rd Airborne Unit and was a selected service member from all branches of the military invited by French president Emmanuel Macron to march in one of the oldest military parades in the world, marking the turning of the French Revolution in 1789.

Though the cost of overseas phone calls keeps him from talking on the phone with his family often, Reed kept his mother, Melinda, updated on his trip via text messages and pictures.

Melinda said she knew Reed was marching in the parade, but one of the biggest surprises to both of them was that he would meet the President of the United States and receive an invitation to the American Embassy.

“He was very excited,” she said. “He had no idea he was going to get that close to the president. He didn’t know (Trump) was going to talk to any of them.”

The meeting gave service members a chance to listen to Trump speak exclusively to them.

“It was only the troops there,” Melinda said. “(Trump) was speaking directly to the troops serving overseas.”

After the speech, Reed was once again surprised as troops went to the Eiffel Tower to eat dinner with Trump and Macron.

Melinda said Reed told her that the soldiers were all treated “extremely well” and made to feel welcome during their trip.

“The way I understand it, all of this was free because they were guests of the French government and were invited there,” she said. “(Reed) didn’t pay for anything the entire time he was there. They were treated so well.”

Reed, a 2014 graduate of Lindsay Lane Christian Academy, has been in the Army since January 2016 and has been stationed in Vicenza, Italy, for about a year, his mother said. He plans to come back to the U.S. in three years.