On May 8, 2020, a ceremony took place at Camp Carpiagne in southern France to bid a final farewell to the two legionnaires of the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (1er REC) who were killed in Mali.
In presence of France’s Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, the ceremony took place at the camp of the regiment located near Marseille. At the time, the vast majority of the 1er REC have been deployed to Mali (West Africa) since this February. They are participating in counter-terrorist Operation Barkhane there. Nevertheless, two of their comrades have already died during this deployment.
On the 1st of May, Brigadier Dmytro Martynyouk (a cavalry rank for Corporal), a 29-year old legionnaire from Ukraine. He succumbed to his injuries a week after his military tanker was struck by an improvised explosive device. He was posthumously promoted to Senior Brigadier (Brigadier-chef).
On 4 May 2020, 1st Class Legionnaire Kévin Clément (equivalent to Private) who was killed in action. Born in France in 1998 and with the Legion since 2017, he was shot in the head during a skirmish with local terrorist group. He was posthumously promoted to Brigadier.
Paying hommage to both 1er REC legionnaires in Paris, May 7, 2020:
Bidding a final farewell to the 1er REC legionnaires at Camp Carpiagne, May 8, 2020:
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Related posts:
Operation Barkhane: 13 French soldiers died, including a legionnaire
1er REC: Two legionnaires killed in Djibouti
2e REI: A legionnaire died in Iraq
2e REI: Four wounded legionnaires in Mali
1er REG: Legionnaire killed in Mali