"Soldier,

You will live like a dog... You will risk your life, you will toil in the mountain range and the rice paddies.

You will be made to lose battles. You will be forced to lose. Your honor will be tarnished. And you alone will be accused of the defeat.

You will be dragged through the mud. You will be abandoned, forgotten, disowned. You will be spat upon, your work will be tarnished.

People will have fun while you suffer, far from your loved ones, your ungrateful loved ones.

One day, those who supported you, who glorified you, will also abandon you. For they found something they disliked in you: your justice, your righteousness, your discipline, your hierarchy, and even your courage.

That day will be very bad. It will be disintegration; but you will be great, even if you die.

And You don't give a damn about all that; you don't give a damn about the lies and the perfidy, the betrayals.

Because you're higher up. You're not of the same race. You're Lord of War.

On the peak overlooking the valley, you don't think about other men. They're so small down there, so ugly...

And if you lose a battle, you'll still be a winner because you fought. You tried, you attempted.

And what is victory or defeat, if not the fact of having fought?

And that's the important thing.

And if we lose what you've won, what does it matter? You tried.

It's a shame that your country, once so great, wallows in shame and abandonment.

Too bad for you. What does it matter, if you're great; Is it your fault if others didn't understand, if you did?

What does betrayal matter, what does deceit matter, what does a woman's love matter, what does admiration matter. It's so fleeting.

You carry your love within you, you know, and you don't need others. It's no business of other men, it's a matter of God and you.

You are a soldier, you are pure: and God understands you.

And if your friend falls, what does it matter: it's the greatest victory, and you will have yours one day... and if you understand that, the rest is easy.

And you will be Lord"

Lieutenant Colonel Jeanpierre (callsign "Soleil")
Died for France on May 29, 1958, in Algeria

To us, memory, to him, immortality!
Duty of remembrance
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