Pierre Jeanpierre served in the French Army and fought during World War II, the First Indochina War, the Suez Crisis and the Algerian War, where he was killed in action.
12 Facts About Pierre Jeanpierre
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Pierre Jeanpierre's father was an active duty career officer and captain in the 42nd Infantry Regiment, killed in 1916 at the Marne, without seeing his family since the outbreak of World War I in August 1914.
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Pierre Jeanpierre was raised by his mother and enlisted in the infantry at the age of 18 years.
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Pierre Jeanpierre joined the 131st Infantry Regiment as a soldier in 1930.
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Pierre Jeanpierre graduated second from the Infantry and Tank School of Saint-Maixent-l'Ecole as a Second lieutenant on 1 October 1936.
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Pierre Jeanpierre's graduation ranking allowed him to choose the Foreign Legion's 1st Foreign Regiment, becoming a Lieutenant on 1 October 1938.
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Pierre Jeanpierre joined the French Resistance under the alias "Jardin", recruiting and arming over 60 volunteers.
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Pierre Jeanpierre was arrested at Orleans on 19 January 1944 and was deported as a prisoner of war to the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp.
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Pierre Jeanpierre was one of only two survivors out of 45 in his group when the camp was liberated by the Allies on 5 May 1945.
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Pierre Jeanpierre sailed to Indochina as second-in-command to Pierre Segretain in the 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion in 1948.
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Pierre Jeanpierre took command of the unit on 1 November 1954.
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Pierre Jeanpierre was passed over for command of 1 REP on 6 February 1956, instead serving as second-in-command, this time to Colonel Albert Brothier.