dinomartino1
Well-Known Member
Jean Gabin was a great actor famous for his roles in french gangster films.
He earned the Médaille militaire and a Croix de guerre for his wartime service fighting with the Allies.
As the German Army approached Paris, Gabin fled to the south of France. He resisted calls to make propaganda movies for the Vichy government, and eventually moved to Hollywood.
But unlike other French film luminaries, Gabin couldn’t stand being in America. Even an affair with Marlene Dietrich couldn’t compensate for being absent from France and from the war to rescue his country from the Nazis.
Gabin offered his services to the Free French. Its representatives wanted him to do propaganda films, but Gabin insisted on active duty in the armed forces.
Reluctantly, the Free French assigned him to naval duty but by pulling a few strings Gabin eventually became France’s oldest armoured commander.
He commanded an M-10 tank destroyer in the fighting in France serving with the Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers-Marins,in the French Army's 2nd Armored Division.
Gabin was part of the military contingent that entered a liberated Paris.
He was too late for the Normandy invasion, but served in the push to Germany, most notably in the taking of the Royan Pocket, one of the last German strongholds in post-D-Day France.
Jean Gabin 1942, when he was in hollywood : "Je ne pouvais pas rester les mains dans les poches, continuer à faire des grimaces devant une caméra en étant payé en plus, et attendre tranquillement que les autres se fassent descendre pour que je retrouve mon patelin" >
I don't speak French but something like
"I could not stay, hands in my pockets, make grimaces in front of a camera , getting payed and waiting that others get killed to find my country again.'
After the war he refused to play any military parts, turning down a lead role in "Is Paris Burning', he often said the only real friends he had known where his crew and for the rest of his life he never missed a reunion with them, his last wish which was carried out by his family was to be symbolically joined with them.
M-10 Tank Destroyer "Soufleur II" and its crew: 2nd Platoon, 2nd Squadron of the RBFM ( Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers-Marins), 2nd French Armoured Division of General Philippe Leclerc .
The chief (commander) of the tank (center) is Jean Alexis Moncorgé, better known by his film star name "Jean Gabin".
Taken sometime after the liberation of Royan, France in February 1945
The crew consists of:
Conductor: Petty Officer Legendre
Gunner: Matelot Gonidec (called gogo)
Assistant driver: Matelot Thiebault
Gunner Assistant: Petty Officer Chevalier
He earned the Médaille militaire and a Croix de guerre for his wartime service fighting with the Allies.
As the German Army approached Paris, Gabin fled to the south of France. He resisted calls to make propaganda movies for the Vichy government, and eventually moved to Hollywood.
But unlike other French film luminaries, Gabin couldn’t stand being in America. Even an affair with Marlene Dietrich couldn’t compensate for being absent from France and from the war to rescue his country from the Nazis.
Gabin offered his services to the Free French. Its representatives wanted him to do propaganda films, but Gabin insisted on active duty in the armed forces.
Reluctantly, the Free French assigned him to naval duty but by pulling a few strings Gabin eventually became France’s oldest armoured commander.
He commanded an M-10 tank destroyer in the fighting in France serving with the Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers-Marins,in the French Army's 2nd Armored Division.
Gabin was part of the military contingent that entered a liberated Paris.
He was too late for the Normandy invasion, but served in the push to Germany, most notably in the taking of the Royan Pocket, one of the last German strongholds in post-D-Day France.
Jean Gabin 1942, when he was in hollywood : "Je ne pouvais pas rester les mains dans les poches, continuer à faire des grimaces devant une caméra en étant payé en plus, et attendre tranquillement que les autres se fassent descendre pour que je retrouve mon patelin" >
I don't speak French but something like
"I could not stay, hands in my pockets, make grimaces in front of a camera , getting payed and waiting that others get killed to find my country again.'
After the war he refused to play any military parts, turning down a lead role in "Is Paris Burning', he often said the only real friends he had known where his crew and for the rest of his life he never missed a reunion with them, his last wish which was carried out by his family was to be symbolically joined with them.
M-10 Tank Destroyer "Soufleur II" and its crew: 2nd Platoon, 2nd Squadron of the RBFM ( Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers-Marins), 2nd French Armoured Division of General Philippe Leclerc .
The chief (commander) of the tank (center) is Jean Alexis Moncorgé, better known by his film star name "Jean Gabin".
Taken sometime after the liberation of Royan, France in February 1945
The crew consists of:
Conductor: Petty Officer Legendre
Gunner: Matelot Gonidec (called gogo)
Assistant driver: Matelot Thiebault
Gunner Assistant: Petty Officer Chevalier
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