Hélie de Saint Marc

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Hélie de Saint Marc
Birth nameHélie Denoix de Saint Marc
Born(1922-02-11)11 February 1922
Bordeaux, France
Died26 August 2013(2013-08-26) (aged 91)
La Garde-Adhémar, France
AllegianceFrance
Service/branchFrench Foreign Legion
Foreign Airborne
Years of service1946–1961
RankCommandant, Chef de Bataillon
Unit3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment
3e REI

1st Foreign Parachute Battalion
1e BEP
2nd Foreign Parachute Battalion
2e BEP
Legion Indochinese Parachute Company
2e CIPLE
1st Foreign Parachute Regiment
1er R.E.P

10th Parachute Division
10e DP
Commands held1st Foreign Parachute Regiment
1er R.E.P
Battles/warsWorld War II
First Indochina War
Suez Crisis
Algerian War

Hélie Denoix de Saint Marc or Hélie de Saint Marc,

Legion of Honor
on 28 November 2011.

Biography

Resistance and deportation

Hélie de Saint Marc entered the

Buchenwald
.

Sent to the Satellite Camp of Langenstein-Zwieberge for 2 years where mortality rates surpasses 90%; he went under mainly two cares and protection including a Latvian miner who actually saved his life the second time. The Latvian miner was in good shape and shared with Hélie food which he stole. Later, When the camp was liberated by U.S. American Forces; Hélie de Saint Marc was found unconscious in the barracks of the dead. Hélie had lost his memory and even forgot his own name recovering later in an American hospital. He was found among 30 living survivors only out of the 1000 deported to that camp.

At the end of

Saint-Cyr Military Academy
.

First Indochina War

Main articles: List of French paratrooper units, Pierre Segrétain, and Pierre Jeanpierre

Hélie de Saint Marc deployed to

4e REM then at the disposition of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment 3ème REI. He lived just like the Vietnamese partisans; learning their language and talking for long hours with Viêt-minh prisoners; trying to understand their motivation and their ways of conducting battle. Commandant
of the intervention company in the high regions, he was in charge to recruit, instruct and command autochthones partisans in operations and mainly protect the respective civilian populations undergoing hostile effects.

Stationed at

Tho; he faced the loss of the post at the border taken by the Chinese Communist Party. In China, troops of Mao Zedong
recently defeated the Nationalist Party; mainly Tchang Kai-check and were soon to dominate their Vietnamese neighbors. The war was about to take a major turn. The French Army suffered heavy losses. After 18 months, Hélie de Saint Marc and the French military were evacuated, with almost none of the partisans, and none of the villagers. "There is an order, you don't make an omelet without breaking eggs"; officials replied to Hélie when he questioned them about the fate of the villagers.

Hélie's unit was obliged to give "coups de crosse" ("crosse" refers the rifle butt). His unit rifle-butted the fingers of villagers and partisans trying to climb aboard the departing trucks. In his words "We abandoned them". Those that survived and managed to join the departing French troops talked about the massacre of those that aided the French. He called his memory of rifle butting the fingers of his allies his "yellow wound" and remained very disturbed about the abandonment of Vietnamese partisans following the orders of High Command.

Hélie returned a second time to Indochina in 1951 with the

Adjudant Bonnin and Général Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny, the High Commissioner, Commander-in-Chief in Indochina and Commander-in Chief of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps
.

In 1953, Hélie then served in the 11e Régiment Parachutiste de Choc. By definition, there was no information on this passage, however it was probable that he remained in Indochina.

Hélie then integrated the ranks of the 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment 1e REP in 1954 and partook in the final combats of Indochina. The 1e REP was repatriated to Zéralda in the departments of Algeria while commanded by Pierre Jeanpierre. During that time, Hélie was designated as a company commandant.

Suez Crisis

In 1956, Hélie partook with the 1e REP to the Suez Crisis.

Algerian War and the Generals' Putsch

Main articles: Pierre Jeanpierre, 10th Parachute Division (France), and 25th Parachute Division (France)

Recruited by Général

Generals' Putsch; directed by General Challe in Algeria
. The operation failed and within a couple of days Hélie de Saint Marc handed himself over as prisoner and taking full responsibility of the actions of the men under his command. He also made it clear not to question the integrity of his legionnaires as well as assuming sole responsibility for the outcome of the failed putsch.

As Hélie de Saint Marc explained at the court-martial trial of the foremost Military Tribunal on 5 June 1961, his decision to challenge as illegal the political decision to grant Algerian independence was essentially motivated by his wish not to abandon the

Indochina among the Colonial Parachute Battalions and felt that this had to stop. As the putsch failed due to lack of political support, Hélie de Saint-Marc was condemned to 10 years criminal reclusion which can go from 10 to 30 years or life. He spent 5 years in the prison at Tulle
before being pardoned on December 25, 1966.

During that time;

Edith Piaf song that NCOs, Corporals and Legionnaires sang while marching out of their barracks for re-deployment following the Algiers putsch of 1961. The song has been a part of Legion heritage since then. The 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment 2ème REP remained the only foreign parachute regiment in the French Army
.

1960s

Following his pardon, he settled in Lyon with the help of Andre Laroche, the president of the deportation Federation and started a civilian career in the metal industry. In 1988, he became Director of personnel in a metal company.

By 1978, he was rehabilitated with full civil and military rights.

In 1988, one of his grand nephews, Laurent Beccaria, wrote his biography which turned to be a success. Accordingly, he decided to write his own autobiography which he published in 1995 under the title of "Les Champs de Braises. Mémoires" and which was crowned by the Prize Femina categories "Essay" in 1996. During 10 years, Hélie de Saint-Marc spent his time travelling to the United States, Germany and France and conducted numerous conferences. In 1998 and 2000, German translation and versions appeared for Champs de braises (Asche und Glut) and the Sentinelles du soir (Die Wächter des Abends) at the Atlantis editions.

In 2002, he published with August von Kageneck- a German Officer of his generation- his fourth book entitled Notre Histoire (1922-1945) ("Our History: 1922-1945"); a story that portrayed the souvenirs of that period; portraying their respective childhood and their vision of World War II.

At age 57; Hélie was decorated and awarded with the commander of the

French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
.

At age 80; Hélie was decorated and awarded with the grand-officer of the

French President Jacques Chirac.[4]

At 89 years of age; Hélie de Saint Marc was finally recognized and awarded the Grand-Croix de la

French President Nicolas Sarkozy.[5]

Funeral

Hélie de Saint Marc died on 26 August 2013.

French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian.[7] Military Honors were pronounced and honored by general Bruno Dary at Place Saint-Jean.[8] Hélie was laid to rest at la Garde-Adhémar (Drôme).[9][10]

Recognition and Honors

Ribbons

Decorations

Posthumous Hommage

Since 15 March 2015 a road bears his name in Béziers.[11][12]

Quotations attributed to de Saint Marc

  • " Si on doit un jour ne plus comprendre comment un homme a pu donner sa vie pour quelque chose qui le dépasse, ce sera fini de tout un monde, peut-être de toute une civilisation."[13]

English Translation: If in one day, we may come to not understand how a man could have given his life for something which surpasses him, this would be the end of a world, perhaps the end of an entire civilization.

  • Extrait de Que dire à un jeune de vingt ans... "À mon jeune interlocuteur, Je dirai donc que nous vivons une période difficile, où les bases de ce qu'on appelait la Morale et qu'on appelle aujourd'hui l'Éthique, sont remises constamment en cause, en particulier dans les domaines du don de la vie, de la manipulation de la vie, de l'interruption de la vie. Dans ces domaines, de terribles questions nous attendent dans les décennies à venir. Oui nous vivons une période difficile où l'individualisme systématique, le profit à n'importe quel prix, le matérialisme, l'emportent sur les forces de l'esprit."[14]

English Translation: Extract of what to tell to a twenty year old... I would say then that we live in a difficult period, where the corps bases of what is referred to as Moral that which is referred to today as the Ethics, are constantly being placed in cause, in particular in the domain of life, the manipulation of life, and the interruption of life. In these domains, terrible questions await us in the decades to come. Indeed, we live in a challenging period where systematic individualism, profit and the materials, are the dominant forces of the human spirit.

  • Extrait de Que dire à un jeune de vingt ans..." Enfin, je lui dirai que de toutes les vertus, la plus importante, parce qu'elle est motrice de toutes les autres et qu'elle est nécessaire à l'exercice des autres, de toutes les vertus, la plus importante me paraît être le courage, les courages, et surtout celui dont on ne parle pas et qui consiste à être fidèle à ses rêves de jeunesse. Et pratiquer ce courage, ces courages, c'est peut-être cela « L'Honneur de Vivre »."[15]

English Translation: Extract of what to tell to a twenty year old... Finally, I would say that of all virtues, the most important, since it is the driving force of and the most necessary to exercise all other virtues, the most important seems for me that of courage, courages, and specially the one which is not talked about and which consists of remaining faithfully loyal to the dreams during the years of youth. Applying this courage, these courages, perhaps that such is the « Honor of living ».

See also

Publications

Bibliography

  • Laurent Beccaria, Hélie de Saint-Marc, éd. Perrin, 1989; reprint « Tempus », 2008.

Documentaries

  • Patrick Jeudy, Un homme d’honneur ( A Man of Honor), produit par Françoise Castro, 52 min. France 2, la Cinquième et Planète. 1996.
  • Alain de Sédouy, « Le dernier engagement » ( The Last Engagement) d’Hélie de Saint Marc Édition ECPAD, 2008.
  • Georges Mourier, Servir ? – Hélie de Saint Marc ( Service ?), Coll. Le choix des hommes, 52 min, Édition À l’image près, 2008.

References

  1. ^ Décret du 25 novembre 2011 portant élévation, retrieved 2024-02-21
  2. ^ BNF, Notice autorité, créée le 18 juillet 1990, mise à jour le 28 juin 2005
  3. ^ "Hélie de Saint Marc est mort". Le Figaro (in French). 2013-08-26. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  4. ^ Publication au Journal officiel du 30 novembre 2002.
  5. ^ "Sarkozy décore un ancien officier putschiste". L'Express (in French). 2011-11-28. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  6. ^ "Hélie Denoix de Saint Marc est décédé | Infos Bordeaux" (in French). 2013-08-26. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  7. ^ "Les obsèques d'Hélie Denoix de Saint-Marc célébrées à Lyon". Le Point (in French). 2013-08-30. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  8. ^ « Eloge funèbre prononcé le vendredi 30 août aux obsèques d’Hélie de Saint Marc par le général Bruno Dary » Archived 2015-10-09 at the Wayback Machine, Valeurs Actuelles, 4 septembre 2013.
  9. ^ Lien web|titre =Obsèques du commandant Hélie de Saint-Marc à Lyon|url = http://www.lyonpeople.com/les-gens/en-direct-de-st-jean-les-obseques-dhelie-denoix-de-saint-marc-2013-08-30.html%7Csite[permanent dead link] = Lyon People|date = 30 août 2013|
  10. ^ Castel, Erwan (2013-09-08). "Hélie Denoix de Saint Marc: Vidéos des obsèques d'Hélie de Saint Marc". Hélie Denoix de Saint Marc. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  11. ^ "Béziers : Robert Ménard honore un symbole de l'Algérie française". Le Figaro (in French). 2015-03-14. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  12. ^ "Hélie de Saint Marc, homme de refus et de réconciliation". Le Figaro (in French). 2015-03-14. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  13. ISBN 2-912485-02-9
    , page 26
  14. ISBN 978-2-290-12061-3
    , p. 21
  15. ISBN 978-2-290-12061-3
    , p. 23
  16. ^ German translation of the Sentinelles du soir.
  17. ^ Traduction allemande des Champs de braises. Mémoires.

Sources

External links

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