Response to the article,
The Book of Camerone

By Christian Morisot
Alain Gandy was born in 1924. Among other important decorations, he held the Croix de Guerre 1939-45 with two citations.

I met Gandy in Madagascar in 1967 during a training course I was taking at the Squadron in Sakaramy to get my driver's license. Sergeant Major Gandy was the course leader, and the highest reward given to the top student was to also pass their public transport license exam. This was the case for me, as I came first in this "FRAC" (a type of training course).

From our first meeting, I immediately understood that I was dealing with a man who had a wealth of experience and who was one of those on whom the command could rely in all circumstances. A few years later, in 1970, after my NCO training, I was assigned to the "Képi Blanc" newspaper by Colonel Delsuc. My mission, already in place, was to manage the veterans' associations and hold the title of editor-proofreader.

Thus, I found myself in the same room as the editorial secretary, Warrant Officer Alain Gandy, and the layout artist, Corporal Louis Perez y Cid. Our editorial secretary proved to be a particularly dynamic man with a broad knowledge, which he put to good use for a newspaper that had evolved considerably.
He was the main organizer under the direction of Captain Olivier Petit, nicknamed Otto Klein.

From the outset, he came across as very approachable, like a kind grandfather, always available and particularly attentive to answering any questions or requests. He was undoubtedly an excellent mentor and an outstanding instructor who, in a way, helped me fill in the gaps in my knowledge and showed me the finest way: to write and edit an article.

I truly appreciated this learned man who had so much to teach us, and I greatly admired his intellectual rigor as a non-commissioned officer, even if, on the surface, he was one of those who sometimes appeared a little too relaxed and who, despite everything, didn't take themselves too seriously…

He could sometimes seem odd, always lost in his thoughts that distanced him from the realities of daily life. He was a man without a past who took advantage of his position at the head of the newspaper, which allowed him to maintain a somewhat superior image in the eyes of others, even his superiors.

The contact and teaching I received from this "Grandfather" meant a great deal to me, and I must admit that I am very grateful to him for having contributed so significantly to my personal development as a young man in a period of "training and discovery." He was very fond of our neighbor at the newspaper office: Adjutant Burda (who had parachuted into Dien Bien Phu), and I remember with emotion the boisterous bursts of satisfaction these two friends would share when they saw a successful page in "Képi Blanc," which would lead them to imitate a convent of Eastern monks in prayer, muttering, and foghorn blasts.

He told us that in a previous life, he had been a captain, a recipient of the Legion of Honor, and that he had had a falling out with his commanding officer. It had gone so badly that he was forced to leave the army. A soldier at heart, he enlisted as a simple legionnaire to start over, disappear, and begin a new life. That's how he would take a day off each month to go to Marseille to collect his half-pay as a captain, while still enjoying his sergeant's pay.

He had a knack for spending lavishly; money worries went right over his head, and he did so discreetly and without any particular restraint. The Legion offered him a kind of freedom that suited him perfectly, his way of feeling free to act as he pleased outside of his Legionary duties.

He often went off with me on weekends to do unusual reporting trips around France—plenty of material for the pages of "Képi Blanc." This is how we ended up interviewing Mireille Mathieu, Michèle Torr, François Severt, and Jean-Pierre Beltoise at the Grand Prix de France, Marcel Pagnol and Jean Cau at their Parisian homes, and many others…

Upon his final departure, he requested a correction of his civil status and became Gandelin again, to everyone's great astonishment. He thus reclaimed his true identity, and we discovered him with the Legion of Honor pinned to his chest, curiously and cheerfully alongside his Military Medal…

As a civilian, he wrote some sixty books about the Legion and detective novels featuring the gendarme Joseph Combes. Gandelin, alias Gandy, ended his days as a resident at Puyloubier. One of those colorful characters that the Legion seems to produce…