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Foreign Legion Recruits


FC

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Back about 67 or 68. The auto parts store I worked hired an old man as a parts delivery driver for about $2.25 an hour. I belive he was in his 80's. He boasted about him and his neighborhood buddies joining the French Foreign Legion before US entered WW1. Him and his buddies did a three year stint, came back to the USA and they were all drafted within 30 days. Most of his gang stayed stateside training GI's for trench fighting. I'm paraphrasing a remark he made. The way the Americans were training their guys to fight with bayonets. I doubt they could shove a bayonet up their own asses. 

He was a good guy, he went by the name Cookie. Never saw anybody enjoy playing Pennie anti poker like he did. When ever he won a pot with barely a buck or two in it. He'd get up and do a little dance around the counter stool often singing a song in French. We did the poker about once a week after closing. Nobody was going to be out or win more than 2-3 bucks. After his wife died it took a toll on his personality and we never saw the happy go lucky guy again. The owner had to let him go after he started hitting the bottle and showing up drunk in the morning. 

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2 minutes ago, FC said:

He sounds like a very interesting fellow!

He really was and very French. He believed if he didn't keep working he'd die. He didn't need the part time pay he was well enough off. Nice spotlessly clean house and cars. He dressed very well often wore one of many French berets, plaid pants and weird looking but always shined shoes. With his French wardrobe he also had a nice collection of western bolo ties. He drove one of his two Mercurys. Guess Ford had a Mercury plant in French Quebec. He believed Mercurys were built as he said much stronger than Fords.

He was a character and loved telling war stories I'm sure with the usual exaggerations. He was barely 17 and fighting in trenches. Claimed the Legion didn't question his age, education he lied about anyway or his past. Claimed they'd take any warm body that could prove their ability to read and write by doing a simple questionnaire. Pass an eye exam and had enough wits to learn the French language. The only background the Legion worried about and looked seriously into was for weeding out homosexuals. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/6/2019 at 4:20 PM, The Zen Master said:

Sometimes I wonder how many people that walk this earth know what real love is - it can kill you.

My prayers are with the guy, wherever he is.

Last I heard he died in his 90's in a VA rest home. 

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