Leon Gautier, the last surviving member of an elite French military unit that partnered with U.S. and allied forces during the D-Day invasion at Normandy, has passed away at the age of 100 following a recent hospitalization for lung problems. Known in France for his service in the Kieffer Commando unit and for a subsequent lifetime spent giving interviews and participating in commemorations as a means of educating the public about WWII and the horrors of war, he told the Associated Press in 2019 that: “The younger generations have to be told, they need to know…War is ugly. War is misery, misery everywhere.” Having spent 78 days on the front lines of Normandy, he was one of only two dozen (out of 177) who made it out alive. Afterwards, he worked building car bodies and training mechanics while living in multiple countries with his wife of more than 70 years, Dorothy. He was praised in a statement by French President Emmanuel Macron) as a man who “united the virtues of a warrior and those of a peacemaker.”
