Hélie Denoix de Saint Marc was a French Foreign Legion officer, mainly serving with airborne units. Best known for his active participation in the 1961 Generals’ Putsch, he died ten years ago, on August 26, 2013. The following article was written in his memory.
75 years ago: An elite airborne unit of the Foreign Legion was activated
75 years ago, in France’s North Africa in early July 1948, an airborne unit of the Foreign Legion was officially constituted to take part in the First Indochina War (1946-1954) in Southeast Asia. There, the resolute unit would become a legend, as the very first French airborne battalion lost in combat.
Read more75 years ago: An elite airborne unit of the Foreign Legion was activated
Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Jeanpierre
On May 29, 1958, during military operations in the Guelma region of Northeastern Algeria, a helicopter hit by rebel fire crashed to the ground. On board, along with the pilot and a mechanic, Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Jeanpierre, a legendary officer of the French Foreign Legion and the head of what was then one of the best units of the French Army. All the three were dead. To this day, Lt. Col. Jeanpierre remains the last high-ranking officer of the Foreign Legion to be killed in action. The following article was written in his memory.