Colonel Marcel Edme (17 August 1924 – 18 December 1979) was a French military officer, paratrooper, and

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

recipient who served as France's most senior military adviser to the

Togolese Armed Forces The Togolese Armed Forces (French: ''Forces Armées Togolaises'', FAT) is the national military of the Republic of Togo which consists of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The total military expenditure during the fiscal ye ...

until his death in a helicopter crash in 1979. Born in

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

in 1924, Edme served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as a member of the

2nd Parachute Chasseur Regiment The 2nd Parachute Chasseur Regiment (french: 2e Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes) or 2e RCP, is one of the most decorated French units of the Second World War, the only land unit awarded the red fourragère in that war, including six citation ...

, parachuting into occupied

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

twice, and later took part in the fighting in the

Battle of Dien Bien Phu The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (french: Bataille de Diên Biên Phu ; vi, Chiến dịch Điện Biên Phủ, ) was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the Fr ...

in 1954 with the 1st Colonial Parachute Battalion where he was taken prisoner. He went on to fight in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. In the 1970s, he was assigned as France's

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

. In 1979, while serving as

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

chief of staff of the

and senior military adviser to President

Gnassingbé Eyadéma Gnassingbé Eyadéma (; born Étienne Gnassingbé, 26 December 1935 – 5 February 2005) was the president of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, after which he was immediately succeeded by his son, Faure Gnassingbé. Eyadéma participated i ...

, he and two other French military officers as well as two Togolese pilots were killed when the helicopter they were riding in crashed in poor weather.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edme, Marcel 1924 births 1979 deaths French military personnel French military personnel of the First Indochina War French military personnel of the Algerian War French military personnel of World War II Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Africa French prisoners of war in the 20th century French expatriates in Madagascar