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| Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame Gendarmerie nationale (Source) |
France, no, the world, has lost a hero.
Sacrificing himself to save others, a brave man, an uncommon man.
A graduate of the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, the foremost military academy in France, founded by First Consul Napoléon Bonaparte in 1802, a recipient of the Croix de la Valeur Militaire for actions while deployed to Iraq, Lieutenant Colonel Beltrame was the epitome of courage and selflessness.
He will be missed.
He will be remembered.
You can read more here.
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Triste, triste
Je contemple mon feu. J'étouffe un bâillement.
Le vent pleure. La pluie à ma vitre ruisselle.
Un piano voisin joue une ritournelle.
Comme la vie est triste et coule lentement.
Je songe à notre Terre, atome d'un moment,
Dans l'infini criblé d'étoiles éternelles,
Au peu qu'ont déchiffré nos débiles prunelles,
Au Tout qui nous est clos inexorablement.
Et notre sort! toujours la même comédie,
Des vices, des chagrins, le spleen, la maladie,
Puis nous allons fleurir les beaux pissenlits d'or.
L'Univers nous reprend, rien de nous ne subsiste,
Cependant qu'ici-bas tout continue encor.
Comme nous sommes seuls! Comme la vie est triste!
Jules Laforgue
(Source)
Rest in Peace, Sir. I'll mention your name to someone who also gave his life to save others.
ReplyDeleteWell said.
DeleteAmen.
DeleteHand salute.
ReplyDeleteNot having to go in and willingly doing so, to protect others, after all he had already done in the world, he is truly le premier chevalier.
ReplyDeleteMay we have more like him in our world.
A hero is a hero, no matter from where s/he may be. I stand beside WSF in rendering a hand salute.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post.
Paul L. Quandt
Now there was a man. As much as we often make fun of the martial virtues of the French collectively, there are still Frenchmen who exemplify bravery, heroism, devotion to others, and greatness writ large, and lieutenant-colonel Arnaud Beltrame was most certainly one of those.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if he'd just waited out in the parking lot, crouching behind his car, things would have turned out differently?
ReplyDeleteGendarme is a corruption of Gent d'Armes, Gentleman of Arms. Enough said.
ReplyDelete