Last Frenchman who fought during D-Day Normandy landings dies at 100
D-Day
The last surviving French fighter who participated in the landmark Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944 during the Second World War has passed away. Leon Gautier passed away on Monday (July 3) at the age of 100. He was among 177 Frenchmen who participated in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944. The iconic attack marked the decisive Allied push to roll back the forces of Nazi Germany who had an absolute military primacy in Western Europe till then.
Gautier passed away in a hospital in Caen on Monday, said the mayor of nearby Ouistreham Romain Bail. Gautier belonged to the Keiffer commando, the units of whom were made up of French fighters who continued their resistance against the Nazis even after the surrender of the French government in 1940.
It is perhaps fitting that Gautier passed away in Caen, which is close to the Normandy beaches. These beaches see commemorations of the Normandy attack each year.
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Gautier lived in Ouistreham since the 1990s. In 1940, he joined the Free France movement in London. The movement was headed by Charles de Gaulle.
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Before taking part in the Normandy invasion, he went to fight in Congo, Syria and Lebanon.
After the Second World War, Gautier became a campaigner for peace, pointing to his wartime experiences.
"You kill people on the other side who never did anything to you, who have families, and children. For what?" he said during a celebration for his 100th birthday last year.
"Ouistreham is very sad today, the loss of this father, this grandfather has orphaned us," said Mayor Bail, calling Gautier "a local hero whom everybody knew" and "an ardent defender of freedom".
The Normandy landings on D-Day
The landings on June 6, 1944, known as D-Day, were the largest amphibious wartime operation ever.
The massive attack was led by US, British and Canadian troops. There was also relatively smaller participation from Australian, Belgian, Czech, Dutch, French, Greek, New Zealand, Norwegian, Rhodesian and Polish troops.
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At the time of the invasion, some 18,000 paratroopers were dropped into the battlezone as Allied air forces provided air support for naval vessels that carried more than 130,000 ground troops for the landings.
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Over 4,000 Allied troops died on the first day of the invasion, which eventually provided the attackers with a foothold in western France to push back the Germans.
(With inputs from agencies)
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