Jean René Baroux (1922–1992) was a

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

-born veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and a writer very much engaged in the evolution of the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

. While a member of the

Science Council of Canada The Science Council of Canada (SCC) was a Canadian governmental advisory board existing from 1966 to 1993. It originally had 25 scientists and senior civil servants, later expanded to 40 natural and physical scientists, with the civil servants remov ...

(Director of Communications), in 1976 he founded the Association Québécoise des Professionnels de la Communication Scientifique (AQPCS), a complementary extension to the Canadian Scientific Writers Association. Baroux was born in

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

. A veteran of the North African Corp from Morocco, he participated in the liberation of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

first, and then

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, from German occupation. He fought in what is considered the biggest and bloodiest land battle of World War II, the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies of World War II, Allies against Nazi Germany, German forces in Kingdom of Italy, Italy during the Italian Campaign (World War ...

, where an estimated third of a million people died through the first five months of 1944. He was also one of the soldiers who reached the demolished abbey, having been directly involved in the final, and decisive assault on German forces ensconced in the Benedictine Monastery. In August 1944, he landed with allied forces on the beaches around

Saint-Tropez Saint-Tropez ( , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var departments of France, department and the regions of France, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It is west of Nice and east of Marseille, o ...

, France, as part of

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil), known as Débarquement de Provence in French ("Provence Landing"), was the code name for the landing operation of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15Augu ...

which launched a 25-mile front onto the German invasion forces in

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

. He survived through another year of battle, moving North attacking the retreating German forces, through Gap, then

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

and on to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

for bravery in battle during the war. He died in

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada.

Book

* ''La Méditation Intime (The Intimate Meditation)'' by Jean Baroux (1982): National Library of Canada

References

* L'OMNISCIENT - Bulletin de l'Association des Communicateurs Scientifiques - on the 25th. anniversary of ACS, formerly named AQPCS (May 2002).

* L'OMNISCIENT - AQPCS -'' "Qui est le vrai fondateur?" ("Who is the real founder?")'' (Article Spring 2002)

* Agence Science Presse – ''"Le dernier voyage de Fernand Seguin"'' ''("Fernand Seguin's Final Voyage")'' (26 Nov.2008

Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) 1992 deaths 1922 births French military personnel of World War II French expatriates in Morocco French emigrants to Canada {{France-mil-bio-stub