Hélie de Saint Marc

Hélie Denoix de Saint Marc or Hélie de Saint Marc,^[1][2] (11 February 1922 – 26 August 2013)^[3] was a senior member of the French resistance and a senior active officer of the French Army, having served in the French Foreign Legion, in particular at the heart and corps of the Foreign Airborne Battalions and Regiments; today's 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment part of the constituents of the 11th Parachute Brigade. Commandant by interim of the 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment (disbanded in 1961), Hélie assumed full responsibility for commanding exclusively his regiment towards the Generals' Putsch in April 1961 and would be charged for such action while also distancing accusations that would compromise the integrity of the men acting under his direct orders of command. He was rehabilitated within his civilian and military rights in 1978 and lifted to the dignity of the Grand-Croix of the Legion of Honor on 28 November 2011.

Biography

Resistance and deportation

Hélie de Saint Marc entered the French resistance (network resistance of Jade-Amicol) in February 1941, at the age of 19 after assisting in Bordeaux at the arrival of the Army and French Authorities when the country was fully engaged in its events. He was stopped on the 14th of July 1943 at the Spanish borders and following a denunciation; he was deported to German Concentration Camp at Buchenwald.

Sent to the Satellite Camp of Langenstein-Zwieberge where mortality rates surpasses 90%; he went under the care and protection of a Latvian miner who actually saved his life. The Latvian miner shares with Hélie, food which they steal and focus on the basics of the job at hand to which they were both assigned to. Later, When the camp was liberated by 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. He was found amongst 30 living survivors only out of the 1000 deported to that camp.

At the end of World War II, at the age of 23, Hélie pursues his education at Saint-Cyr Military Academy.

First Indochina War

Hélie de Saint Marc deployed to French Indochina in 1948 with the French Foreign Legion; at the disposition of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment. 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.

Stationed at Talung, at the borders of China, amongst the minority people of Tho; he faced the loss of the post at the border taken by the Communist Chinese 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 2nd Foreign Parachute Battalion ( 2e BEP ), known today as the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment shortly after the disaster of Battle of Route Coloniale 4 (RC4) in October 1950, which almost annihilated the 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion ( 1e BEP ). He commanded the 2 CIPLE Battalion (2nd Company of Vietnamese Parachute of the French Foreign Legion). During this deployment, he served with Rémy Raffalli, Commander of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Battalion ( 2e BEP ), adjudant Bonnin and General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, the acting civilian and military chief of Indochina.

Algerian War and the Generals' Putsch

Recruited by General Challe,Hélie de Saint Marc served during the Algerian War; notably alongside General Massu. In April 1961, he participated with the 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment which he commanded by interim to the Generals' Putsch; directed by General Challe in Algeria. The operation failed and within a couple of days Hélie de Saint Marc decided to constitute himself as a prisoner taking full responsibility of the actions of the men at his disposition. He also made it clear not to question the integrity of the men under his command while assuming single handedly the outcomes with other senior planners.

As Hélie de Saint Marc explained at the High Military Tribunal on June 5, 1961; his decision to challenge the illegal was essentially motivated by his will not to abandon the harkis, recruited by the French Army to battle against the NLF; not to mention his total unwillingness to relive his difficult experience in Indochina. He agreed to support the April 1961 "Generals' Putsch" against President Charles de Gaulle. The putschists saw de Gaulle's acceptance of Algerian independence as a betrayal of France and a betrayal of the local population both indigenous and French colonial; particularly, French Colonial Regiments. The officers in revolt had seen exactly this behaviour in Indochina amongst the Colonial Parachute Battalions and felt that it had to stop. As the putsch failed for lack of political support; Hélie de Saint-Marc was condemned to 10 years of criminal reclusion which can go from 10–30 years or life. He spent 5 years in the prison at Tulle before being graced with a pardon on December 25, 1966; Christmas Day.

During that time; Legionnaires from the French Foreign Legion acquired their parade song "Non, je ne regrette rien" (No, I don't regret anything), a 1960 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.^[4][5] The 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment 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. Up until 1988, he became Director of personnel in a metal company.

By 1978, he was rehabilitated in his civil and military rights.

In 1988, one 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. Following 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 Légion d'honneur on June 23, 1979 by French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.

At age 80; Hélie was decorated and awarded with the grand-officer of the Légion d'honneur on November 28, 2002 by French President Jacques Chirac.^[6]

At 89 years of age; Hélie de Saint Marc was finally recognized and awarded the Grand-Croix de la Légion d'honneur, on 28 November 2011, by French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.^[7]

Funeral

Hélie de Saint Marc died on August 26, 2013.^[8] His funeral was superseded on August 30, by Philippe Barbarin, cardinal-archevêque of Lyon in the Lyon Cathedral in presence of the mayor of Lyon, general Bertrand Ract-Madoux, Chief of Staff of the French Army, representing the French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian.^[9] Military Honors were pronounced and honored by general Bruno Dary at Place Saint-Jean.^[10] Hélie was laid to rest at la Garde-Adhémar (Drôme).^[11] · .^[12]

Recognitions and Honors

Ribbons

Decorations

• Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur, 28 November 2011
• Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur, 28 November 2002
• Commandeur of the Légion d'honneur, 23 June 1978
• Croix de guerre 1939-1945 (1 citation)
• Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures (8 citations)
• Croix de la Valeur Militaire (4 citations)
• Médaille de la Résistance
• Croix du combattant volontaire de la Résistance
• Croix du combattant
• Colonial Medal with "Far East" clasp
• Médaille commémorative de la guerre 1939–1945
• Medal of deportation and detention for acts of resistance
• Commemorative Medal of the Indochina Campaign
• Commemorative Medal of Middle East Operations
• Commemorative Medal of Security and Maintaining Order Operations in North Africa with "Algerian" and "Tunisian" clasps
• Wounded soldiers badge (x2)
• Order of Civil Merit Sip Hoc Chau Thai

Posthumous Hommage

Since March 15, 2015; a roard bears his name in Béziers.^[13][14]

See also

• Pierre Segretain
• Pierre Paul Jeanpierre
• Foreign Airborne Battalions and Regiments of France

Publications

• Les Champs de braises. Mémoires with Laurent Beccaria, édition Perrin, 1995, (ISBN 2262011184), Prix littéraire de l'armée de terre - Erwan Bergot in 1995, Prix Femina essai in 1996.
• Les Sentinelles du soir, édition Les Arènes, 1999, (ISBN 2912485029)
• Indochine, notre guerre orpheline, édition Les Arènes, 2000, (ISBN 2912485207)
• Notre histoire (1922-1945) avec August von Kageneck, conversations recueillies par Étienne de Montety, édition Les Arènes, 2002, (ISBN 2912485347)
• Die Wächter des Abends, Édition Atlantis, 2000, (ISBN 3932711513)^[15]
• Asche und Glut. Erinnerungen. Résistance und KZ Buchenwald. Fallschirmjäger der Fremdenlegion. Indochina und Algerienkrieg. Putsch gegen de Gaulle, Édition Atlantis, 1998, 2003, (ISBN 3932711505)^[16]
• Toute une vie ou Paroles d'Hélie de Saint Marc écrit en collaboration avec Laurent Beccaria, volume comprenant un CD audio d'émission radiophonique, édition Les Arènes, 2004, (ISBN 2912485770)
• La Guerre d'Algérie 1954-1962, avec Patrick Buisson, préface de Michel Déon (avec DVD), Albin Michel, 2009 (ISBN 222618175X)
• PDF Lettre à la jeunesse d'Hélie de Saint Marc
• L’Aventure et l’Espérance, édition Les Arènes, 2010, (ISBN 9782352040910)

Bibliography

• Laurent Beccaria, Hélie de Saint-Marc, éd. Perrin, 1989 ; rééd. « 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. ISBN|377-0002154021

References

Sources

• Asche und Glut. Erinnerungen. Résistance und KZ Buchenwald. Fallschirmjäger der Fremdenlegion. Indochina- und Algerienkrieg.
• Putsch gegen de Gaulle, Edition Atlantis, 1998, 2003, ISBN 3-932711-50-5, German traduction of Champs de braises. Mémoires (www.editionatlantis.de)
• Die Wächter des Abends, Edition Atlantis, 2000, ISBN 3-932711-51-3, traduction allemande des Sentinelles du soir (www.editionatlantis.de)

External links

• Official website

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