Veteran René Rossey of the Kieffer commando in Bénouville – Commemorations 2009 – 65th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
Photo: D-Day Overlord
René Rossey
1926-2016
K-Gun section
1er Bataillon Fusiliers Marins Commandos
Commando N°4
1st Special Service Brigade
Lying about his age, René Rossey enlisted in the army at the age of 17 and a half. Living in Tunisia, he left Africa in 1942 with the British Eighth Army for Haifa, Palestine. Then he headed to Beirut (Lebanon), where he joined the ranks of General Catroux of the Free French. “Two months later, I was at the Patriotic School in England. This time, I couldn’t lie about my age. I signed a contract with de Gaulle for the duration of the war. Plus three months.“
René Rossey first discovered France on June 6, 1944, when he landed with Commando No. 4 (“Commando Kieffer“) near Colleville-sur-Orne (now Colleville-Montgomery). The youngest of the group, he “fought through the entire Battle of Normandy, then the Battle of Holland” – “I was lucky,” he says modestly.
He gave up his military career at 19. “I wanted to go home,” he says, “I wasn’t interested in the ranks.” “During my teenage years, I said to myself, ‘Oh, I’m going to defend France,’ and I did. That’s it, it’s as simple as that.“
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