Genevieve de Galard, nicknamed The Angel of Dien Bien Phu, passed away last Thursday, on May 30, 2024. She was 99 years old.

Born in France on April 13, 1925, Genevieve de Galard was a nurse with the French Air Force. She was a volunteer for the First Indochina War and served as a flight attendant on aircraft transporting wounded soldiers to hospitals. She had carried out 135 combat missions there. On March 28, 1954, when on a mission at Dien Bien Phu, her aircraft was hit by Viet Minh artillery and she was forced to stay in the valley for the next six weeks, during the decisive battle.

Genevieve immediately occupied herself with the wounded in the underground field hospital, providing them with water and food and bandaging them. After the end of the battle, in mid-May, she was allowed to leave the valley, alongside other military medical staff. Genevieve became a celebrity in France, which she disliked, stating that she only did her work. She then returned to her profession as a flight attendant.

Mother of three and the widow of a French officer, Genevieve de Galard had still been in contact with the families of the wounded men, until her passing. She was an honorary 1st Class Legionnaire of the Foreign Legion. She was also awarded the Légion d’honneur (France’s highest order of merit) and the Foreign Theater of Operations’ War Cross (Croix de guerre des T.O.E.).

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