Guy Lénel from Bagnolais has been honoured with the highest distinction: he is now a knight of the Legion of Honour

Veterans' representative Raymond Masse, Colonel Alain David, president of the Gard Rhodanien Legion of Honor committee, Knight Guy Lénel and Lieutenant-Colonel Thierry Jullien. Midi Libre – C. C.

The ceremony, presided over by Colonel Alain David, took place on Saturday, January 25 at the town hall. Guy Lénel, who had served in Indochina, was honored for both his military and civilian commitment.

On Saturday, a rare ceremony took place at the Bagnols town hall. For the occasion, the elected representative for veterans Raymond Masse threw open the doors of the wedding hall. Indeed, Bagnolais Guy Lénel, 90 years old, was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor. He received from the hands of Colonel Alain David, president of the Legion of Honor committee of Gard rhodanien, the insignia of the highest French honorary decoration, in the presence of members of veterans associations and his family. Guy Lénel served in the Navy for seven and a half years. At 17, he landed in Indochina where he stayed for 32 months. “This is not the Indo opium that you knew, it is the Sabbath of the dead […]. You will keep after-effects for a long time and even a piece of ammunition. You return and resume service with constancy, obstinacy and determination. You serve in Algeria, in Toulon.[…] At the same time, you are involved in the associative environment and in the neighborhoods of the cities where you live. This is how it is when you are generous and invested, you are for life”, Colonel David will declare. At aperitif time, at the Maison des combattantes, Guy Lénel, very moved, will confide what he saw, barely arrived in Indochina: “Four soldiers, their heads between their legs, cut off by Cambodian auxiliaries who had revolted.” He will return from Indochina with the Croix de guerre received in the fire.

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“A good man”

During his career, he also worked in Guyana, at the space studies center, “I was on a boat, we were collecting rocket heads”. Guy Lénel believes he had an exciting life. To the audience, he will tell: “After my life as a sailor, I moved forward in life by trying to care about others, young people, immigrant workers, people alone in nursing homes.” He is also a man of letters, who has been distinguished for his writings. In 1964, he already participated in a literary competition of the French Navy. He was a journalist in the Ardennes. When he learned that he was going to be made a knight of the Legion of Honor, Guy thought of his father who would have been so proud. His wife, Michèle, and their descendants were proud of this distinction that honors “your life and I dare say here a good man, a good man”, concluded Colonel David.

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