Film explores Cajuns’ war role
A new documentary explores the little-known role of French-speaking Cajuns during World War II, when men whose language was ridiculed at home proved a valuable asset behind enemy lines in occupied France.
“Mon Cher Camarade,†by Lafayette film maker Pat Mire, premieres tonight at the LITE Center on Cajundome Boulevard.
The hour-long film examines Cajuns who enlisted in the war effort and found themselves serving as translators for French-speaking populations overseas and as operatives working with the French Resistance.
The resistance worked behind German lines in occupied France to sabotage the invading army and help the Allies after the June 1944 D-Day landing in Normandy.
Cajun soldiers served as liaisons to the resistance, blending in with the French population and coordinating the flow of intelligence and supplies between the resistance and the Allies.
“They were spies. That’s what they were,†Mire said.
Cajun soldiers were even trained to alter their speech, clothing and manners to mimic the locals.
Retired Brig. Gen. Robert LeBlanc of Abbeville, who worked behind enemy lines, spoke in the film of how soldiers who smoked cigarettes would be sure to burn them down to the very end to avoid suspicion, because no Frenchman in occupied territory would waste even the smallest amount of tobacco.
The film also looks at the value of ordinary Cajun soldiers who, because of their language skills, served as critical interpreters for French-speaking populations and officials not only in France but in French North Africa and Belgium.
One such solider was Mire’s father, Felix Mire of Pointe Noir, who was interviewed before passing away two years ago. The father-son connection helped spur the documentary project.
A public screening of “Mon Cher Comrade†begins at 8 p.m. at the LITE Center on Cajundome Boulevard. The documentary is scheduled to air on Louisiana Public Broadcasting on Dec. 9 at 8 p.m.
topix.com/state/la/2008/11/film-explores-cajuns-war-role
November 24th, 2008 by Ragin Cajun /
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