Première "Journée nationale d'hommage aux morts pour la France" en Indochine

[Peter Lyderik]

Première "Journée nationale d'hommage aux morts pour la France" en Indochine

6-6-05 voila.fr

La France rendra mercredi, pour la première fois, un hommage national aux quelque 100.000 soldats français et de l'Union française "morts pour la France en Indochine", lors d'une cérémonie solennelle aux Invalides, plus de 50 ans après la bataille de Dien Bien Phu.

Michèle Alliot-Marie, numéro 3 du gouvernement et ministre de la Défense, présidera ce premier hommage en présence du ministre délégué aux Anciens combattants Hamlaoui Mekachera, des personnalités civiles et militaires, et des "anciens d'Indo".

La cérémonie interviendra au lendemain d'un entretien mardi à l'Elysée entre le président Jacques Chirac et le secrétaire général du Parti communiste vietnamien, Nong Duc Manh, en visite officielle en France.

La date du 8 juin a été instituée "Journée nationale d'hommage aux morts pour la France en Indochine", par un décret publié au Journal officiel du 27 mai 2005. Proposée par les associations d'anciens combattants, elle correspond au jour de l'inhumation, en 1980, du soldat inconnu d'Indochine à la nécropole nationale de Notre-Dame de Lorette (Pas-de-Calais).

Lors de cette première journée, "seront honorés les restes mortels d'un combattant de Dien Bien Phu, récemment découverts sur le site de la bataille avec ceux de douze de ses camarades de combat", selon le ministère délégué aux Anciens combattants.

Le soldat identifié était "un légionnaire du 1er Bataillon étranger de parachutistes" (BEP), selon la Légion étrangère, dont le commandant, le général Bruno Dary, sera présent aux Invalides, de même qu'une compagnie d'honneur du 2è Régiment étranger de parachutistes, héritier du 2e BEP.

D'autres cérémonies sont prévues mercredi devant les monuments aux morts de France, notamment à Fréjus (Var), où a été érigé le Mémorial des morts d'Indochine.

L'Indochine française était formée de trois pays du sud-est asiatique: le Cambodge, le Laos et le Vietnam.

Selon les chiffres officiels, quelque 100.000 combattants français et de l'Union française sont tombés en Indochine, 76.000 ont été blessés, et 40.000 ont été faits prisonniers, dont 30.000 ne sont jamais revenus.

Parmi les événements militaires majeurs de la présence française sur ce territoire figure le "coup de force" japonais du 9 mars 1945, une "attaque surprise" menée par quelque 70.000 soldats nippons contre les troupes françaises, faisant quelque 8.000 morts.

Figure aussi la célèbre bataille de Dien Bien Phu (Vietnam), dont la France a commémoré l'an dernier le 50e anniversaire. Commencée le 13 mars 1954 pour s'achever le 7 mai par la victoire de l'armée du Vietminh, cette bataille reste l'une des pires défaites de l'histoire récente de l'armée française. Elle a fait, côté français, 16.000 morts, blessés et prisonniers. Aucun corps n'a été jusqu'ici rapatrié de Dien Bien Phu, et la France ne dispose sur place que d'un discret monument.

[Rapace]

Lors de cette première journée, "seront honorés les restes mortels d'un combattant de Dien Bien Phu, récemment découverts sur le site de la bataille avec ceux de douze de ses camarades de combat", selon le ministère délégué aux Anciens combattants.

Le soldat identifié était "un légionnaire du 1er Bataillon étranger de parachutistes" (BEP), selon la Légion étrangère, dont le commandant, le général Bruno Dary, sera présent aux Invalides, de même qu'une compagnie d'honneur du 2è Régiment étranger de parachutistes, héritier du 2e BEP.Thanks for this interesting information. To cut it short, France will celebrate on June 8 all the soldiers of the French expeditionnary corps KIA during the Indochina war.
In the excerpt above, it is written that a particular attention will be given to the remains of a soldier KIA at Dien Bien Phu, recently discovered in the battlefield by Vietnamese workers. This information was posted on this board some weeks ago by Peter Lyderik (or was it BobW ?). This corpse was identified as the one of a legionnaire of 1BEP. A detachment of 2REP will attend the ceremony.

[The Dude]

...The issue of rememberance is taken very seriously, indeed....

[Rapace]

Some additional information on that : the only body who could be identified is the one of legionnaire 1st class André Capus, 1BEP, born on June 19, 1924 in Boufarik (Algeria). The other 12 bodies are still unknown, but believed to be also the remains of soldiers belonging to 1BEP or 2BEP.

[engagé volunteer]

...The issue of rememberance is taken very seriously, indeed....And so it should be everywhere in the world. :)

[ericthered]

100,000 French DEAD in Indochina??? Christ, that's almost twice what the American forces later suffered. And you know what's sad? Many people in France today are completely ignorant about this war, unlike in the States, where everybody knows at least something about "Vietnam". Why is this?
I guess Vietnam affected the States right down to its roots, with anti-war protesters and social upheaval at home, etc. Everyone was involved in one way or another, as compared to in France, where the war was a far-off event that didn't touch anyone in Paris. Is this correct, Patrick?

[Peter Lyderik]

Some numbers from an earlier post.

French Army troops killed during the Indochina war

20685 Frenchmen

11620 Legionnaires

15229 North African

7540 West African

26686 Indochinese

Source: The French Indochina War 1946-54 by Martin Windrow

[ericthered]

Thanks, Peter. Ok, so that's almost 82,000 dead -- I thought 100,000 was a bit high...

[Peter Lyderik]

France honours the soldiers who died for the empire in Indochina

[This is the print version of story http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1387937.htm]

Last Updated 09/06/2005, 08:14:40

France has officially paid homage for the first time to its 100,000 soldiers killed in Indochina, most of them in Vietnam.

Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie presided at a memorial ceremony in Paris honouring what she called their immense sacrifice.

She says 51 years ago, the guns fell silent in Indochina, bringing to a close an epic century of French involvement in the Far East.

It brought to a painful end a war of eight years.

According to the defence minister, from 1945 to 1954 nearly 100,000 French soldiers were killed in Indochina, most in the former French colony of Vietnam.

A further 76,000 soldiers were wounded and 40,000 were taken prisoner, of whom 30,000 never returned.

The ceremony was organised on the national day of homage to the French soldiers who died in Indochina, which is set for June 8 each year.

[Rapace]

Everyone was involved in one way or another, as compared to in France, where the war was a far-off event that didn't touch anyone in Paris. Is this correct, Patrick?a/ The Indochina war came immediately after WW2 and people didn't want to hear about a war anymore.
b/ At that time, communications were not what they are today. Information was taking a long time to come and was often like 'blurred' by the distance.
c/ At that time the Communist Party in France was very strong and they were promoting an active campaign against the "sale guerre" (durty war), undertaken by the government against their Vietminh Communist fellows.
d/ Last but not least : the CEFEO (Corps Expeditionnaire Français en Extrême-Orient), was made only of volunteers. No draftees were sent to Indochina which also contributed to the people feeling less 'concerned'.

The only interest people manifested was in the last 2 weeks or so of the battle of DBP. See what happened for example with the nurse Geneviève de Galard who became extremely popular.

[BobW]

Bonjour Ericthered,

Had just sent an email to confirm date and time of a Korean War memorial monument dedication ceremony I'll attend in a week from now.

If the First Indochina war, ending with Dien Bien Phu, is matched up to the Korean War, a pattern can be seen. The Korean War is called "America's Forgotten War". Note that the Geneva Conference addressed both the Dien Bien Phu surrender and the Korean War armistice seperated by only one day at the same conference hall.

America's Vietnam War (Second Indochina War) does match up somewhat with France's Algeria experience - if incorporating the metropolitan France political disturbances. Both had anti-war protests and social upheavals.

America's Vietnam War was closely entangled with the Civil Rights intergration efforts. "I got nothing against no Viet Cong. No Vietnamese ever called me a n***er". Mohammed Ali (Cassius Clay).

Once the world's wars entered homes through the television, the situation changed. The politicans adjusted accordingly. Much more is now done outside the view of the cameras.

Saluations,
BobW

[ericthered]

Patrick and BobW, thanks for the interesting comments and comparisions between Indochina, Korean War, Algeria, and Vietnam.