Gettin jicky with all that fag stuff....

[Chris Boonzaier]

.... try one of these !!!!!!!

81 MM Brandt mortar.

No light weight modern stuff for the legion, Tube, base plate and Tripod each weigh 20kg (within a gramm or two). Hell if it was good enough in 1944, its good enough today..eh?

Once after a slight map reading error I managed to smash a hole through a fence using the tube, and barley chipped the paint. (but enough to make the sgt turn purple when we got back to base..."Dropped it sarge, honest"....POW....."oooof")

[Chris Boonzaier]

and here are part of the best mortar team ever !!!!
From top left an Italian (ugliest man in the legion, and thats saying something !!) South African, polish, French,
Next row Polish, hungarian, french and canadian.

[Klaus O.]

Chris,

Also my grandfather (Swiss German) was in the French legion in Indochina (Vietnam) during 1945-48. I told me that there were lots of German and Swiss serving in the "Legion étrangère" at that time. He didn't speak highly from the few Italians serving there, though.

Nowadays seems that the majority of the legionnaires are coming from East Europe. Is that true? Are all of them looking to be natulized into French citizenship and to get the French passport after 5 years of service or do they want to experience something special (being a soldier, adventure, see exotic countries, etc...)?

A friend of mine went to Aubagne (is that correct?) and wanted to enlist in the Legion... At that time he was already "Lieutenant" in the Swiss army. He stayed there 3 weeks, but he got out just before signing the papers in order to enlist for 5 years. As Swiss Italian like me, but also French speaking (his mother is Swiss French), it wouldn't have been a problem for him to get used to it and maybe becoming a NCO. He liked very much the "military style of life". I told him that he would have been crazy to do so... He had everything in Switzerland: good parents, good friends, good job.... why on hearth would he join the Legion? I can understand him if he would have been 18, without a family and completely felt a "freak" for soldier's life.

I had always a great respect for the French Foreign legion... many swiss served and died for "la grande nation": since the middle-age Swiss mercenaries died for French kings and they were always part of their personal guard.

I just wanted to tell you that, after seeing your pictures.


Ciao,

Claudio

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hi Claudio,
The green in the legion parade epaulettes are to symbolise the swiss guard that were one of the roots of the legion.
I left in 94, so am not to sure how the numbers break down, but I assume there are a lot of eastern Europeans.
it usually comes in waves.
A lot of Brits after the Falklands war, a lot of Portugese ("sardines" in the legion) after portugal lost her colonies and a lot of soldiers were without jobs, Germans after WW2, Russians after WW1 (Hence the old story of a colonel reviewing his troops "What did you do before joining the Legion?" "I was a genral sir!")

I assume there are a lot of Jugos etc now, but they try and keep it all in proportion.

Some folks join to get out of a bad situation, some for adventure, but one thing is sure, they check all people and all stories, and only about 15% get accepted, the rest are refused... which other army today can be that selective ?

[Marc verstraete]

Hello,
Picture shows a little souvenir I permanently have on me of a quick "passage" in the service.
Old legion fellows will recognise the motto!
Marc V.