The Last Battle: Legionary Solidarity

By Christian Morisot
To build an institution for those who served in the French Foreign Legion and who, now old and weary, are depleted of both physical and moral strength, with no further military opportunities, even though they knew nothing but the art of war. Admit it, they excelled.

Thanks to this institution, they can, in the twilight of their lives, now shortened by the hardships they have endured, spend their final days here, in the land of Paul Cézanne, in Puyloubier. A haven of grace, a kind of island of tranquility at the end of a turbulent existence, a sort of infirmary where they can heal the wounds of body and those of heart and soul that led them to the Legion and which are not always fully healed. An institution where, to their great astonishment, they die in their own beds instead of being led somewhere, anywhere, by chance.
Magnified is the epic tale, in the colors of "green and red," that carried the legionnaires who brandished the seven-flamed grenade and the French flag to the four corners of the world.

This is not a mere rhetorical flourish, some kind of stock phrase, but rather a cold fury, a concentrated will to declare: France and the French, peaceful and pacifist, even pacifist, repudiate war as a political means because they have waged it so often.

The greatness of France lay, of course, in its philosophers and artists, its writers and scientists, but it also lay, ultimately and when necessary, in its soldiers, its warriors, and its military heroes. What was once called the last resort of kings: "Ultima ratio," the political force of the sword.

It is also important to know that the legionnaire knows how to lay down his weapon, not simply surrender it, by embracing the magic word: Peace! But it should also be known that every legionnaire is ready for this anonymous and collective heroism of defending what is most precious to his adopted country: liberty.

How could these men, who are not French and who fought for France, integrate into the French family without the welcome, the care, and the recognition of the French people?

The cause is deeper than it appears and, above all, moving; it is human. It is a crusade against selfishness and ingratitude. The legionnaire fears no danger, yet he also knows how to be a builder when the opportunity arises… He represents the antithesis of pure and simple destruction, which is why his "green and red" stronghold makes him a man of the future.

The Foreign Legion Veterans' Institution is one of the "PK0s" of legionnaire solidarity, the starting point and rallying point of a brotherhood that never ends.