Birth: 29 October 1894
Death: 6 August 1944
Companion of the Liberation – Decree of 1 February 1941
After his military service was deferred for health reasons as a student, he managed to enrol at the end of 1914. A simple soldier, he went to the front in April 1915 with the 408th Infantry Regiment, which he would never leave. His courage under fire, enthusiasm and leadership abilities soon earned him promotion to the rank of officer. In October 1916, in the rain and mud, he took out an enemy trench with his company during the great offensive of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles of the 20th century. Severely wounded, he finished the war as a company commander with seven citations and the Legion of Honour.
From Guiana, where he had settled, he immediately responded to the appeal of 18 June 1940. After trying in vain to rally the territory to the cause of Free France, he managed to lead a hundred or so Guianese volunteers to Gabon in 1941. He met with death in Brittany in August 1944, shot down by a German officer after standing in front of him in order to save the lives of the female volunteers who were accompanying him.
Credits: Claude Chandon in February 1918. © Famille de Claude Chandon
Ajouter un commentaire