My friend surprised me today and shared a few details about his grandfather: he was in the French Army in WWII, he fought in North Africa, he was somehow involved in fighting Rommel. His name was Pierre Pannetier and, aside from being a good grandfather, it sounds like he was a hardened man.
Pierre earned one hell of a collection of medals and at least one of them is supposed to be a big deal. Would someone help me understand these medals and more about his grandfather? Is there a record how these were earned? I'll share whatever I learn with him.
https://imgur.com/gallery/cKD18
Edit: "The Order of the Liberation was created by General Charles de Gaulle on 17 November 1940, to reward individuals, military and civil organizations for outstanding service in the effort to procure the liberation of France and the French Empire. In total, 1,038 people have been recognized for their merits during WWII, and became "Companions" of the Order. " http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/en/ other recipients include Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower.
Your Grandfather was a real French patriot I will say that. He was awarded what appears to be a knight rank Legion of Honor, served throughout the Middle East, and took part in the liberation of France. As for that patch in the right hand corner, I cannot find out what exactly that is but it leads me to believe he served in a Naval detachment or maybe even a marine detachment.
One of his medals is for the defense of Bir Hakeim, which is quite the legendary battle in French military history. A Free French brigade attached to the British Eight Army in the Western Desert stalled a massive flanking attempt by the German and Italian forces, holding them at bay for over a week despite being massively outnumbered, before finally fighting their way to safety.
It Looks like this page on the Order of the Liberation website is dedicated to him? (photograph included)
The medals fit the description of his service in the Free French Forces. I don't know if you speak French so here is a translation:
Pierre Pannetier was born on 1 January 1914 in Kampot, Cambodia. His father was a doctor in the colonies.
He spent his youth in New Caledonia and was an activist for the island to rally Free France as soon as the 18 June 1940.
Refusing the idea of defeat, he campaigned and tried to recruit supporters (it uses the term "propaganda") among the population distant from Nouméa, especially in the eastern coast of the island.
Because of delicate circumstances, including the opposition of the local authorities, he took part in the September 1940 uprising that saw the rise to power of a Free French representative.
He volunteered for the Pacific Battalion (BP 1) which was formed by commander Félix Broche and as a platoon leader (chef de section) participated in the 1942 Libyan campaign.
He fought at Bir Hakeim in May/June 1942 and at El Alamein in October. Meanwhile, the Pacific Battalion merged with the 1st Marine Infantry Battalion (1er BIM) to form the Pacific Marine Infantry Battalion (1er BIMP). It is while in this unit that Pierre Pannetier took part in the operations in Tripolitania and Tunisia.
In April 1944, Pierre Pannetier landed in Italy with the 1st Free French Division, then in France the 16th August. There he was involved in the fightings to liberate the metropolitan territory all the way to Belfort in November 1944. At this time of the year, there was an important number of casualties and exhausted soldiers because of the harsh climate. The 1st Company of the BIMP, most of the officers including Lieutenant Pannetier, were relieved.
Always keeping his cool, showing bravery and dedication, he received Liberation Cross on 16 October 1945.
After the war, he settled in the United States, in California, where was a therapist and anatomy teacher. He passed away on 31 October 1984 in Santa Ana.
After that it says he was awarded the Legion of Honour, he was a companion of the Liberation and awarded the 39/45 War Cross with 4 citations. What you can do is tell your friend or his parents to try to obtain his Legion of Honour file, which should include a detail account of his actions. It won't be online as it includes documents that are less than 50 years old but your friend should be entitled to ask for a copy.