Leon Gautier, the last surviving member of an elite French unit that joined U.S. and other Allied forces in the 1944 D-Day invasion to wrest Normandy from Nazi control, has died. He was 100.
soldiers, French Capt. Philippe Kieffer’s commandos ensured that France had feats to be proud of too, after the dishonor of its Nazi occupation, when some chose to collaborate with Adolf Hitler’s forces.
The commandos spent 78 days straight on the front lines, in ever-dwindling numbers. Of the 177 who waded ashore on the morning of June 6, just two dozen escaped death or injury, Gautier among them. He later injured his left ankle jumping off a train and was forced to sit out much of the rest of the war. His ankle remained painfully swollen for the rest of his long life.
Gautier said he didn’t like talking about the war: “The older you get, you think that maybe you killed a father, made a widow of a woman. ... It’s not easy to live with.”
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