Honor and Fidelity motto: 100th Anniversary

On this Saturday, October 16, in memory of Hubert Germain, a former officer of the 13e DBLE and the last “companion of the Liberation” (people awarded the Ordre de la Libération of the Free French during WWII) who has just passed away, the Foreign Legion celebrated the centenary of its motto Honneur et Fidélité.

The ceremony was presided by General Pierre Schill, Chief of Staff of the Army, accompanied by General Alain Lardet, commander of the Foreign Legion. It took place at the Legion’s headquarters in Aubagne, southern France, with the participation of all regimental colors bearing this motto, and their honor guard.

The ceremony was partially dedicated to Hubert Germain who has passed away recently, in his 101 years (6 August 1920 – 12 October 2021). He had become an honorary Senior Corporal of the Foreign Legion only two weeks prior his death.

“Who better than Hubert Germain to illustrate this motto? He asked to take only his stripes and his white kepi with him in his coffin,” said General Lardet during his speech. General Schill, the Chief of Staff of the Army, added: “This man of a thousand lives, who was notably a Minister, highlighted only one: his time in the Legion – certainly at a dramatic moment in history, during the Second World War – and the family he found in it.”

During the ceremony, a platoon of fresh legionnaires from the 4e RE made their oath and obtained the white kepi.

The Honor and Fidelity motto is the second long-used motto of the French Foreign Legion. It is said to originate from the motto of the Régiment de Diesbach (1721-1806), the Swiss unit within the French Imperial Army. In 1920, a ministry decree prescribed that the motto Honneur et Fidélité should appear on all regimental flags of the Legion, both current and future. The motto has been emblazoned on them since then, having replaced the previous Napoleonic motto Valeur et Discipline. Unlike the Legion, the rest of the French Army uses the motto Honneur et Patrie (Honor and Fatherland) on their regimental colors.

Hubert Germain - companion of the Liberation

Honor and Fidelity motto: 100th Anniversary

Honor and Fidelity motto: 100th Anniversary

Honor and Fidelity motto: 100th Anniversary

Honor and Fidelity motto: 100th Anniversary

 

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