On the 1st of March 1959, in the Souk Ahras region of northeastern Algeria, a French Foreign Legion paratrooper platoon was engaged by local insurgents. Advancing in the lead was a popular officer, Captain Pierre Bourgin. As soon as the first shots were fired, he was fatally wounded. In him, the Foreign Legion lost one of its rare poets. The following article was written in his memory.
Pierre Eugène Bourgin was born in Saint-Nizier-de Fornas, France’s Loire, on January 7, 1924. He enlisted in the Army’s 1st Armored Division on May 11, 1945, three days after the surrender of Nazi Germany. Becoming senior corporal a month later, he served in Allied-occupied Germany, mainly with the 11th Regiment of African Chasseurs (Chasseurs d’Afrique), a cavalry unit. He was promoted to sergeant on December 15. In early 1947, Bourgin entered the Combined Arms Special School (ESMIA) at Coëtquidan to pursue a career as an officer. Later, he continued his studies at the Cavalry School in Saumur.
Upon becoming second lieutenant on September 1, 1948, he was assigned to the 5th Dragon Regiment in Allied-occupied Austria. Two years later, on July 28, 1950, he landed in Saigon to join the First Indochina War. Assigned to the 5th Cuirassiers Regiment, he was promoted to lieutenant on October 1. In Indochina, Lieutenant Bourgin’s courage and military valor garnered him one wound, four citations, and the prestigious Légion d’Honneur order.
He left Indochina in late 1952 and, after a three-month furlough (extended military leave), returned to the 5th Dragon Regiment in Austria.
Finally, Bourgin got what he had always hoped for: he joined the Foreign Legion. In late July 1954, he was posted to the 2nd Foreign Cavalry Regiment (2e REC) in Oujda, Morocco. At the same time, the war in Indochina ended. However, another war was beginning for France, this time in North Africa. In early 1955, Bourgin took part in an operation to restore order in the Tlemcen region of Algeria.
After his brief stay with the 2e REC, Lieutenant Bourgin was transferred to the 3rd Legion Saharan Motorized Company (3e CSPL) in the Allied-occupied Fezzan province of North Africa’s Libya (a former Italian colony). This company, which he joined in late May 1955, was stationed at then-Fort Leclerc in Sabha, deep in the Sahara Desert. Time passed calmly in the 3e CSPL, with days devoted mostly to training and patrolling the sparsely populated region. There, in the middle of nowhere, Lieutenant Bourgin found his inspiration as a poet. Fascinated by the natural scenery and great magic of the Sahara’s starry nights, he began writing his verses under the pseudonym “Légionnaire Von Palaïeff.”
In 1956, Morocco and Tunisia won independence; the war was now concentrated in Algeria. However, in the 3e CSPL in Libya, the pace of life was much the same as it had been the previous year. On July 1, Bourgin was promoted to the rank of captain. A month later, he left the company and the Sahara for an assignment with the Foreign Legion Training Group (GILE) of the 1st Foreign Regiment, the motherhouse of the Legion, based in Algeria’s Sidi Bel Abbès at the time. He served with the Cadre Training Company (CIC).
Between March and May 1957, he took a parachute course in France’s Pau. Now a parachutist, Captain Bourgin returned to Algeria and, in July, joined the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP) in Philippeville. Still a cavalryman, he took command of the Reconnaissance Squadron, renamed the Motorized Company shortly afterward. From August onward, his unit took part in anti-insurgent operations in the Tebessa region with the rest of the regiment. In October, Captain Bourgin distinguished himself at the head of his company in the Douar Mezeraa region. In a message, the commanding officer congratulated him on “your constant desire for efficiency, your calm and the precision of your judgments, which enabled you to intervene in the various clashes with greater determination.”
At the beginning of 1958, he was cited at the brigade level for his actions from late 1957.
Despite the high number of operations, Captain Bourgin – whose beard distinguished him from other Legion paratroopers – found time to write poetry and send his verses to the editors of Képi Blanc, the Legion’s monthly magazine.
In 1959, the 2e REP was operating in Algeria’s Northeast, close to the Tunisian border. There, in the Souk Ahras region, in early March, the Motorized Company was tasked with reinforcing the electrified frontier between Oued Berrich and the El Hanki station. Early in the afternoon, the 2nd Platoon came into contact with the rebels. Captain Bourgin and his HQ Platoon took charge of the engagement. At 2.30 p.m., near Douar Ouillen, he led his legionnaires in the assault on the rocks where the rebels were hiding. Standing up, as he always did in battle, he was hit in the chest by a bullet. Seriously wounded, Captain Bourgin died shortly afterward while being taken to hospital. He was 35 years old.
Officer of the Légion d’Honneur, Captain Bourgin earned two citations at the Army level, four citations at the Army Corps level, a citation at the division level, and a citation at the brigade level.
Along with Captain Planet (who was killed a year and a month later, in April 1960), they remain the 2e REP’s only company commanders killed in action, until nowadays (2024).
One of Captain Bourgin’s poems:
La Nuit Du 30 Avril
Un rêve m’a confié qu’au soir du 30 Avril
Les Morts de la Légion s’évadaient de leurs tombes
Et venaient par milliers des quatre coins du monde
Dessiner dans la nuit d’interminables files.
Et leurs os de poussière, encore rougis de sang,
Supportaient dans le ciel, plus beau qu’une auréole,
Deux épaulettes rouges et puis un Képi Blanc
Piquetés dans la nuit des éclairs de lucioles.
J’ai voulu leur parler, mais ils n’entendaient point.
J’ai voulu leur faire signe, ils ne me voyaient pas.
Les Morts de la Légion défilaient devant moi
Et j’ai cru reconnaître plusieurs de ces anciens,
Qui sont tombés là-bas dans la boue des rizières
Pour l’Honneur du Drapeau et puis des Képis Blancs…
Pour fêter Camerone, nos Morts sortaient de terre
Et pendant une nuit redevenaient vivants.
The Night Of April 30 (Camerone Day)
A dream entrusted me that on the evening of April 30th
The Legion’s dead escaped from their graves
And came by the thousands from the four corners of the world
Drawing endless lines in the night.
And their bones of dust, still reddened with blood,
Wore in the sky, more beautiful than a halo,
Two red epaulettes and then a White Kepi
Staked out in the night by flashes of fireflies.
I wanted to speak to them, but they couldn’t hear me.
I wanted to wave them off, but they couldn’t see me.
The dead of the Legion were parading in front of me
And I thought I recognized several of these veterans,
Who had fallen in the mud of the rice paddies
For the honor of the Flag and the Képis Blancs…
To celebrate Camerone Day, our dead came out of the ground
And for one night became alive again.
—
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