Show LIFE IN THE FOREIGN LEGION All Races Go to Make Up Worlds World's Fighting est Army Army- Warped and Crooked Bodies and Spirits Strengthened Strength Strength- ened Strict ened-Strict Strict Discipline Tempered with Kindness p i AV r 4 I z i T z fr IE 4 4 ri 1 17 7 S rr S. S p The Legionnaires must march march or or die But some f absolutely physically cannot keep up Inset Foreign Legionnaires in camp photographed b by Richard burton j L' L L I By RIC RICHARD ARD HALLIBURTON Author of or The Royal Road to Romance Etc IF T F I were twenty-one twenty again 1 and if lif the term of enli enlistment enlistment enlist enlist- t- t ment were limited to a year instead of five jive Id I'd join the French Foreign Legion I am perfectly aware th that t. t L Legionnaires Le frequently get shot by Arab bullets or tortured to death by b Arab women But the gambling chance of escaping is worth woth taking If there were no danger there would be no adventure Its It's the danger that attracts fully half the new recruits that come to to Bel Ab bes each year Only recently I went to the railroad railroad railroad rail rail- road station to watch one trainload of ot these recruits come in These unequipped bleus were of every race under the sun Poles Turks Negroes Spaniards Italians Russians Russians Russians Rus Rus- Rumanians Belgians and above all Germans Derelicts Born Again Yet however much their languages languages languages lan lan- differed they all looked alike They had been traveling a week in their their- civilian ian clothes and I were now a grimy army of tatterdemalions tatterdemalions tatterdemalions tatter tatter- unwashed u unshaved shaved ragged and exhausted As this I hopeless and disreputable column slouched down the road leading to the barracks I joined them Was this the famous Legion Legion Legion-Ia la brave Legion that Legion that had conquered Africa for France that had Brought brought rought glory upon glory to their flag that could outmarch and outfight any army in inthe inthe inthe the world Yes the very same This grime will be washed off These rags willbe will willbe willbe be burned and a smart new uniform issued to replace them These miserable miserable miserable mis mis- erable bodies will be straightened by exercise these unhealthy faces tanned and toughened In six months this pack of ot starving vagabonds vagabonds vagabonds vaga vaga- bonds will go marching back up 1 the boulevard behind the stirring trumpets clean erect shining dan dan- More than 70 per cent of the recruits recruits recruits re re- re- re are are German usually German usually peasant boys who have run away from home I because they were treated ill or hungry One also finds many German German German Ger Ger- man soldiers ex-soldiers out of jobs A good 10 per pct cent will always be French who get in by saying they are arc Belgian Belgian Bel Bel- gian glan or Swiss The remaining 20 per cent are truly international But whether German or non-German non they usually usual usual- ly come from rom the lower orders Exceptions Exceptions Exceptions Ex Ex- Ex- Ex however meet one at every turn In Bel-Abbes Bel as the Legion calls its home there is a military band of ot pieces Every member member member mem mem- ber of ot that band is a good musi musi- cian clan And every member is a Legionnaire Le Le- Le- Le At the other extreme one finds the infamous Compagnie de Discipline the penal prison for forthe forthe forthe the Legion where murderers bandits criminals incorrigible have been collected They too are re Le Le- But the average Legionnaire is neither musician nor murderer murderer- just an unhappy and unfortunate outcast a malheureux seeking seeking seeking seek seek- ing forgetfulness from the past and shelter for the present He loses his name when he joins up and finds a new one He d denies nies and dismisses all he was He is born again of a mother who understands t ri J and forgives But in payment for his rebirth he must sacrifice all else for her and fight for her and suffer and hunger and thirst for her herand herand herand and and die for her and alone Booze God Booze God of the Legion Before Id I'd been in Bel-Abbes Bel an n hour on my first visit I learned what next to loyalty is the most imp important thing in the life of a liquor Legionnaire Legionnaire liquor Their favorite drink because Itis Itis it itIs Is cheap is a raw red Algerian wine called Pinard Pinard is the raison detre for the average Le Le- Le- Le Pinard has always always' been been his god It is now It will be till tiU the Legion perishes Pinard has w welded the Legion together preserved preserved preserved pre pre- served its morale won battles conquered conquered conquered con con- Africa Bottle brothers- brothers Legionnaires On the first Legion pay-day pay I was in town I wandered into the barracks barracks barracks bar bar- racks canteen the Legions Legion's high aI alI altar al al- a- a I tar to this great god booze The place was an inferno wit with scores of ot soldiers brawling laughing singing singing sing singing sing sing- ing and md shouting in ten languages Tobacco smoke thickened the air oaths turned it blue Bottles and bodies were strewn across wine- wine splashed tables or under them Benches were overturned Drink drink drink drink drink-a a madness a frenzy a demoniac worship of ot the idol al al- al- al cohol As the night advanced those who were too paral paralyzed zed to lift lilt another another another an an- other glass were stacked in corners while stouter drinkers held on and nd poured it down till dawn One for All All MI All for One Next day found a good percentage percent percent- age of pt the most savage drunks in prison and scarcely anyone in the whole barracks really sober As a arule arule arule rule however the officers are wonderfully wonderfully wonderfully won won- patient and overlook most of ot these little binges I saw one Legionnaire who lay prostrate in inthe inthe inthe the gutter rise to his feet at the approach of an officer draw himself to rigid attention salute with a smartness that was va inspired and then then plop plop back into the gutter gutter gutter gut gut- ter he collapsed The officer just laughed and passed on But drink is by no means the Legions Legion's only diversion In Bel- Bel Abbes as in most of ot the smaller towns where Legionnaires are quartered quartered quartered there is the Village too too the the Street of the Women On a holiday the women put on their most bizarre gowns and heaviest heaviest heaviest est jewelry Gross will cry shrilly at passers Painted white women reach out to seize one from rom the crowd Arab girls with raucous voices shriek Insults at each other across the alley A A few Cew French flUes too old for Paris compete compete com corn pete savagely with their native sisters sisters sisters sis sis- sis sis- striving in this last outpost of ot degradation to postpone the end another another another an an- other year another month With so many desperately gay soldiers soldiers sol sol- diers wandering about the streets at night fights are frequent At this the excels and woe to their opponents for tor every Legionnaire in hi insight insight sight will come to the aid of a fellow fellow tellow tel fel fel- fel low Legionnaire and regardless of ot where justice lies fight like a demon demon de de- mon for the uniform Sing In Scorching Sun In order to have close contact with the Legion in the field I chose to accompany on foot Legionnaires Legionnaires Legion Legion- I who had to march miles I Iacross across desert country in five days We had 30 miles to do that day ri j and Id I'd not walked that many miles in a month I soon began to regret it The moment the pas de route order was given the Legionnaires broke step took a reef reet in their and moved My God how they could marchl march The kilometers rolled behind like knots behind a battleship smoothly steadily mer mer- The pace was never less than four miles an hour As soon as the sun rose the heat began to torment me for I was wearing a light sweater But what of ot the Legionnaires in overcoats They dripped far worse than I 1 did but while I struggled to keep up they sang sang lusty lusty German marching songs always always German Next day we had to cross 30 miles of sand without a tree or a stream The officers drove their men more and more ruthlessly They must march march march-march march ou creve march or die But some absolutely physically physical physical- ly could not keep up They preferred preferred preferred pre pre- to creve and creve-and and so did I. I Falling Falling Fall FaU- ing back in Ignoble defeat I persuaded persuaded persuaded per per- a k wagon kitchen driver to let me board his steaming stove He had been ordered to follow fonow the column to pick up stragglers So o our strange ambulance was soon loaded to capacity but still the Ule limping stragglers multiplied As a n last resort resort resort re re- re- re sort ropes from the wagon were tied to the exhausted soldiers' soldiers belts not not so much to compel them as asto asto asto to assist them but it worked both ways Before we reached the end of our mile ISO desert march I heard enough Legion stories from my comrades comrades both both riding and walking to to fill a book One stands out vividly vividly vividly vi vi- in my memory Some time before considerable excitement had developed in Colomb Colomb Colomb Col- Col Bechar one of ot the desert outposts outposts outposts out out- posts over the remarkable case of ofa a certain Austrian whose name shall we say was Young had fallen heir to a huge fortune in Vienna left him by his fathers father's will and the executors were trying to find the beneficiary whom they knew to be ce for some unknown reason hiding In the Le Le- Le- Le gion They had succeeded In tracing tracing trac trac- ing lag down his regiment even his company His assumed name however however however how how- ever baffled an any further tion Not for tor a Million As a last attempt to find the missing missing miss miss- ing lag man the sergeant major to whose company the authorities were sure belonged announced announced announced an an- the bequest publicly at as- as as as- All AIl the details were described described de de- scribed so that there could be no mistake The sergeant-major sergeant ordered ordered ordered or or- dered to step forth and receive his legacy There would be no penalties no questions questions just just justa a paper to sign and a million dollars dol dol- lars to spend Nobody moved What A million dollars fool The examiners examiner's eye swept the ranks blazing with impatience at atthe atthe atthe the stupidity of the secretive Austrian Austrian Aus Aus- trian who preferred to remain unknown un Wl- known at nt the price of ot a million dol dol- lars But all his pleadings and threat threat- t- t were of no avail His search was a failure A failure until two years later when himself discharged honorably from the Legion appeared appeared appeared ap ap- ap- ap in Vienna to claim his for for- tune was the sergeant major e Bell Syndicate Service ff i L- L i J L |