a Diên Biên Phu Diary

[USMCWayne]

Can anyone here help put me in touch with a German WWII vet who served with FFL in Indochina?

My purpose of contacting these men is to honor their reputation as fighting men (no politics please) via our annual Weekend of Heroes convention ([Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. As some of you may know that military history is no longer taught in schools if not already twisted; hence we run an annual military action figure toy convention combined with REAL military veteran plus recruitment displays to keep the tradition alive which has been extremely effective.

I don't believe John has had any luck finding any WW II German FFL vets. It's too bad as the Weekend of Heroes would be a great way to recognize the heroism and sacrifice of the Legion.

[USMCWayne]

Five years old, but this site seems to have some pretty interesting Dien Bien Phu info, including this...

One of the more bizarre incidents in modern warfare concerns the French deserters. The French have an amazing bureaucracy, and this is shown in the meticulous detailing of deserters, mainly Algerian, Moroccan, and Vietnamese irregulars. Deserters are listed as 1161. During the course of the battle, about 2,000 men announced to their commanders that they were deserting. Their commanders - and here is that Gallic fatalism again - let them go. But there was no place for them to go, as the base was surrounded on all sides. So the deserters deserted - to the middle of the camp - and made themselves as comfortable as possible while the fighting raged non-stop around them, draining the steadily dwindling resources of the base, and even relaxing with some prostitutes. One account says the French did not have the resources to attend to the deserters. This event and the way the French handled it boggles the mind. One wonders what the fate of the deserters would have been in just about any army one can think of.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

[greatza1]

I found recently some pictures taken by Howard Sochurek for LIFE Magazine in November-December 1953 on another forum ( [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] ).

[greatza1]

From the same source .

[greatza1]

The last one is from Khe Sanh 15 years later.

[greatza1]

Two days and 55 years ago the last stronghold from Diên Biên Phu , fort Isabelle ceased the fire. Of about 11000 french prisoners only about 3000 returned home .
RIP all .

[Zardo]

Good Morning!
I saw a lot of amazing pictures of the Airborne Ops. in the Indochina War. In some (few) pictures are helicopters, often "the cow" H19/S55. Did the French AF or the ALAT conducted heliborne ops in any moment of the War, not only for Medevac?

[psychopigeon]

Do we know much about what happened to the PoWs? I know some were bought back through back channels either by family or government. The rest sent to Russia and China do you think?

I remember reading a story from a U.S special ops guy. While on an ambush in the jungle on the Laos border they witnessed a French guy walking through the jungle, alone, and talking to himself. Kind of haunting really, knowing some were kept back for decades. Same with U.S PoWs who never came back.

[John777]

Do we know much about what happened to the PoWs? I know some were bought back through back channels either by family or government. The rest sent to Russia and China do you think?

I remember reading a story from a U.S special ops guy. While on an ambush in the jungle on the Laos border they witnessed a French guy walking through the jungle, alone, and talking to himself. Kind of haunting really, knowing some were kept back for decades. Same with U.S PoWs who never came back.

I am not going to google the name of the camp now as it is late, but they were marched to a prisoner of war camp, many died on the march, where they joined other prisoners of war, who had been there for many years. They were kept there for a couple of years and they were all released after the completion of peace talks. That is the jist of it, but I must brush up on this history.

[Rapace]

Do we know much about what happened to the PoWs?

Except for the most seriously wounded who were evacuated to Luang Prabang in Laos by air (about 850), all other PoWs, including those 'slightly' wounded, were marched 700 km up North to the prisoner's camp. It turned to be a 'death march', like the Japanese did with allied PoWs during WW2. The conditions of living in the camps were so terrible that an estimated 60 to 70% of the PoWs didn't come back and died either along the roads or in the camps. Like for the US, it is rumoured that some PoWs were not released after the Geneva agreements in 1954 (end of the "French" Indochina war) and were used as 'slaves' doing all sorts of hard work, but this has never been proved.

[SeanG]

Alex Solomon's father in law was taken prisoner , he was slightly wounded, do not know the whole story maybe Alex might say. All I know he was in the Legion and fought in Indochina.
Hope you do not mind me mentioning this Alex ???

[Alex Solomon]

Alex Solomon's father in law was taken prisoner , he was slightly wounded, do not know the whole story maybe Alex might say. All I know he was in the Legion and fought in Indochina.
Hope you do not mind me mentioning this Alex ???

Yes this is quite true but it is not for me to say.

[SeanG]

Désolé, frère.
J'espère que je n'ai bouleversé personne ? ?

[veteranlouisianne]

you guys have a great heritage.

[marinefather]

There were a couple French Foreign Legion guys that fought in Indochina that were in the US Army that I met, maybe around 1963. Lodge-Philbin Act fellows from red territories.