Marcel Letestu (8 April 191829 August 2006) was a

Général de brigade Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

and

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the Foreign Legion.

Military career

Marcel enlisted in the

in 1936 and became a Sergent (

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

) in 1938. A Sous-Officiers in the Franc Corps of the 160th Infantry Regiment (french: 160^e Régiment d'Infanterie de Forteresse) in 1939 to 1940 at the

front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * ''The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...

, he was made

captive Captive or Captives may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Captive'' (1980 film), a sci-fi film, starring Cameron Mitchell and David Ladd * ''Captive'' (1986 film), a British-French film starring Oliver Reed * ''Captive'' (1991 ...

during the

Phoney War The Phoney War (french: Drôle de guerre; german: Sitzkrieg) was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germa ...

. He managed to escape a stalag and joined the free zone. He entered to the École militaire interarmes of Cherchell. He graduated as a Major of his promotion. At the end of

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, he was named as an instructor at the Perfection Officer School (french: école de perfectionnement des officiers) of Achern. In 1950, he was the champion of

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 ...

for precision shooting and recordman for rapid shooting. Promoted

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1951, he joined the 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment 5^e REI where he was cited and wounded in 1952. He then served in Algeria where he commanded a battalion of the 1st Foreign Regiment 1^e RE. He was then assigned to the

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, literally the "Special Military School of Saint-Cyr") is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ...

, where he commanded a company prior to assuming the role of an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

instructor. Promoted to

Chef de bataillon Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

(

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

) in 1958, he commanded a general staff headquarters Division of the

3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment The 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (french: 3e Régiment étranger d'infanterie, 3e REI) is an infantry regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is stationed in French Guiana. Its mission includes the protection of the C ...

3^e REI in the Sud-Oranais. He then commanded the

Foreign Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

at Madagascar, prior to becoming the regimental commander of the 1st Foreign Regiment 1^e RE in 1970. During his tenure, the Operational Group of the Foreign Legion G.O.L.E was created, then in 1972, the Foreign Legion Groupment G.L.E at Aubagne and the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment 2^e REI, leading to the formation of the Commandement de la Légion Étrangère which he assumed the first command. He left the

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...

of the Legion in 1973 to command, in 1974, the 23rd Territorial Military Division. He left active duty service in 1976. Since 22 October 1977,

général is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers (), which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank (), which are high-level offic ...

Letestu is the Patron of the

École militaire interarmes The ''Combined Arms School'' or ''Joint military school'', known as École Militaire Interarmes or EMIA, is a military school of the French Army intended to train officers who have risen from the ranks. It was founded in 1942 and based in a rural ...

promotion « Lieutenant Chezeau » ( E.M.I.A 1977-1978) of the 1st Parachute Hussard Regiment 1^er RHP.

Recognitions and Honors

Grand-croix de la Légion d'honneur 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 B ...

Croix de guerre 1939-1945 * Croix de Guerre des Theatres d'Operations Exterieurs ribbon

Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures * Croix de la Valeur Militaire ribbon

Croix de la Valeur militaire The Cross for Military Valour (french: Croix de la Valeur Militaire) is a military decoration of France. It recognises an individual bestowed a Mention in Dispatches earned for showing valour in presence of an enemy, in theatres of operations wh ...

Croix du Combattant Volontaire 1939-1945 ribbon

Croix du combattant volontaire * Croix du Combattant (1930 France) ribbon

Croix du combattant The Combatant's Cross (french: "Croix du combattant") is a French decoration that recognizes, as its name implies, those who fought in combat for France. The Poilus (French combat soldiers) of World War I worked toward recognition by the governm ...

Médaille des évadés The Escapees' Medal (french: Médaille des Évadés) is a military award bestowed by the government of France to individuals who were prisoners of war and who successfully escaped internment or died as a result of their escape attempt. The "Esca ...

* 8 decorations He was commended 13 times, 8 of which were in the Armed Forces order.

References

Sources

* History and Patrimony Division of the French Foreign Legion (french: Division histoire et patrimoine de la Légion étrangère) {{DEFAULTSORT:Letestu, Marcel 1918 births 2006 deaths People from Joué-lès-Tours French generals Officers of the French Foreign Legion French military personnel of the Algerian War French military personnel of World War II

Military career

Recognitions and Honors

See also

References

Sources