Battalion Commander Charles Hora

By Christian Morisot.
Each of us has the opportunity in our lives to experience moments of small joys and others of dramatic significance. It is always worthwhile to share them, even if they are primarily personal matters, kept deep within our very selective memories.

I enjoy frequenting antique shops, and my priority in my research is old books, particularly those written by former legionnaires. We once asked some of our veterans to recognize that they are veritable living memories and, therefore, to write about their past as legionnaires before embarking on their final journey. This request was not acted upon for numerous reasons that don't seem necessary to mention; it's an undeniable fact. However, many books have been written and remain little known.

Today, they are no longer published or are out of print or unavailable, as is the case for many of these books found at secondhand bookstores.

I would like to share my latest acquisition, the book by Commander Charles Hora; one of our former legionnaire-officers, who offers us a veritable bouquet of adventures, the kind we love, the kind that can inspire true vocations, and not just any vocations: those of becoming a legionnaire, among others…

Charles Hora was born in Yokohama, Japan, in 1908; he was of Czech nationality through his father, and his mother was Japanese. From a very young age, he was involved in the "Concessions" war in China. He was a commander in the Czech army and later a battalion commander in the French Foreign Legion.

This man with an exceptional destiny fought around the world, from the French campaign of 1939-1945, to Korea, Indochina, and finally Algeria. He left the Legion and active service for a return to civilian life, a life he didn't know, forced, he said, by the unbearable tragedy of the end of French Algeria. He crossed the threshold of the Viénot barracks in Sidi-Bel-Abbès for the last time on May 22, 1961, head held high.

Excerpts from the epilogue of his book:

"Why did I recount my adventures?

I succumbed to the call of vanity.

When I recounted an episode from my eventful life, my friends always said to me:

You've had an unusual life. You should write about it.

But for me, that's a minor reason. I wanted to let the general public know what the Legion is, how one joins, how one stays in. I also wanted to show that being a legionnaire is not a flaw, but a privilege." Along with a sense of mutual support, one of the essential traits of the Legion is its transcendence of nationalities. It provides one of the greatest examples of human peace in the modern world by abolishing differences of race, religion, language, morality, caste, and color. Once enlisted, these Men—with a capital M—forged in a formidable melting pot, very quickly become legionnaires and only legionnaires. They remain legionnaires for life, even into eternity.