Bernard de Lattre de Tassigny - First Indochina War and Death

First Indochina War and Death

Bernard de Lattre served in the French army during the First Indochina War, embarking at Marseille on 1 July 1949. He became a platoon and then squadron leader, and took part in the Battle of Dien Mai. He received his second Croix de guerre during this campaign, being awarded the medal by his father on 11 May 1951. He was killed in action 19 days later, near Ninh Binh, during the Battle of the Day River. The citation for his actions concluded:

Following his son's death, his father arranged for a Catholic mass to be held in the cathedral in Hanoi. Two days after the battle, Bernard de Lattre's body was flown home to France, accompanied by his father, and the young soldier was buried with military honours. The graves of all three de Lattres are now located side-by-side in the cemetery in Mouilleron-en-Pareds, the birthplace of Jean de Lattre.

Bernard de Lattre's death received widespread press coverage at the time, including articles in Le Figaro, Le Monde, The New York Times and TIME magazine. His funeral was featured in LIFE magazine as 'Picture of the Week'.