Portraits of Commandos

The Free French commandos constituted a community of volunteers whose often little-known stories reflected the diversity of France at war.

Sailors, soldiers, rich or poor, French or foreign, career military or committed civilians, all joined the unit created by Philippe Kieffer to liberate their country in the way they deemed most effective.

Their individual trajectories — sometimes brief, sometimes long and complex — shed irreplaceable light on the history of the 1st BFMC.

This section brings together their biographical notes, in order to restore each one to their place in the unit and to give full human depth to the collective history of the Commando.