Radomir Pavitchevitch (17 December 1908 – 24 July 2005) was a French legionnaire, veteran of

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 ...

. He enlisted for five years on 9 December 1931, and was assigned to the 2nd Foreign Legion Regiment at

Oujda Oujda ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...

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. Even though released from the service, he rejoined the Legion at

Beyrouth Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of ...

, in the 6th Foreign Legion Regiment during its creation, on 1 October 1939. In March 1941 he earned the sous-officier rank in the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

Foreign Legion Regiment. He then enlisted again to fight for the Free French Forces, and was attached to the

13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade ) and veteran foreign regiments (french: Anciens régiment étranger, link=no) of the Legion, in case of the CEPs, BEPs & REPs, the context reference is referring to the paratrooper veterans (french: Anciens legionnaires parachutistes, link=no) ...

(DBLE). He fought in the ''Phalange Magnifique'' (the wonderful phalanx, nickname of the DBLE) during the North African campaign, and earned the grade of sergent-chef. He served as a section commander under capitaine

Pierre Messmer Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer (; 20 March 191629 August 2007) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Minister of Armies under Charles de Gaulle from 1960 to 1969 – the longest serving since Étienne François, duc de Choiseul under Lo ...

, who was at the time, a company commander in the ''13''. At the end of the siege of

Bir Hakeim Bir Hakeim ( ar, بئر حكيم, translit=biʾr ḥakīm, lit=Wise Well ; sometimes written ''Bir Hacheim'') is in the Libyan desert at and is the site of a former Ottoman Empire fort built around the site of an ancient Roman well, dating to ...

, all the French units received the order to force the blocus, at night, to break through German lines. Pavitchevitch and his 5 légionnaires, who stayed in the fort to cover their companions, were missing. Five days later, they reappeared, leading a column of twenty Afrika Korps prisoners. Next, he landed in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, thereafter in

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 ...

in 1944 as a section commander. He was exceptionally promoted as adjudant-chef on 11 November 1945 and retired from active duty on 18 December 1947. He died on 24 July 2005.

Awards

Knight of the

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 ...

and médaillé militaire, the

adjudant-chef Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

Pavitchevitch received the

Croix de guerre 1939-1945 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...

with a palm and 4 stars (two of vermeil, one of silver, and one of bronze).

Sources

* ''Képi blanc'', the official monthly publication of the French Foreign Legion * Division of history and cultural heritage of the French Foreign Legion {{DEFAULTSORT:Pavitchevitch, Radomir Pavitchevitch, Radomir Pavitchevitch, Radomir Free French military personnel of World War II 2005 deaths Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) 1908 births