Spain no longer takes foreigners.... other than those from Spanish South America former colonies?

Again, a little late to this thread but thought I'd share a personal experience with the French Foreign Legion.

I went to Verdun, France with a signal company when the Berlin Wall and Iron Curtain was erected. Not long after we got there, France got themselves whipped by a ragtag army in rebels in Algeria and began to pull the Legion back to France - they had nowhere else to put them, outside of disbanding them.

We were all shocked when the entire US Military forces in Verdun were put on high alert, we were all issued arms and ammo, and extra security was put on all the entrances to the barracks. All civilian employees were also brought on base and put up in temporary quarters.

For the next week, the Gendarmes in Verdun hid out in the barracks and stations while Legionaires rampaged through the streets. Any female outside was attacked and violated. They broke into and looted a number of shops and stores. They took over most of the hotels and turned them into pig sties.

It was only when their own officers began executing them and called in other French Army forces that it stopped. The legionaires were locked up in the barracks and, for the remainder of my time in Verdun, only officers - in pairs - were allowed out.

The French government did their best to cover up the whole thing - threatening the USA when a couple of Stars & Stripes reporters tried to release photos of the carnage.

I was told - from a third-person source - that they were highly pissed because they felt deserted by the French government in Indo-China and North Africa.

Originally Posted by whiterabbit

Spain Has a foreign legion too.

Spain never had a foreign legion, foreign citizens CAN join the military in Spain, but must be residents.

Spain's foreign legion is just a mistranslation from Spanish to English. In Spanish Foreign can also mean 'another land' so The Spanish Foreign Legion really means "the Legion for another land" (in other words, these guys are ready to be deployed to a foreign place for combat)

Originally Posted by lvcabbie

Again, a little late to this thread but thought I'd share a personal experience with the French Foreign Legion.

I went to Verdun, France with a signal company when the Berlin Wall and Iron Curtain was erected. Not long after we got there, France got themselves whipped by a ragtag army in rebels in Algeria and began to pull the Legion back to France - they had nowhere else to put them, outside of disbanding them.

We were all shocked when the entire US Military forces in Verdun were put on high alert, we were all issued arms and ammo, and extra security was put on all the entrances to the barracks. All civilian employees were also brought on base and put up in temporary quarters.

For the next week, the Gendarmes in Verdun hid out in the barracks and stations while Legionaries rampaged through the streets. Any female outside was attacked and violated. They broke into and looted a number of shops and stores. They took over most of the hotels and turned them into pig sties.

It was only when their own officers began executing them and called in other French Army forces that it stopped. The legionaires were locked up in the barracks and, for the remainder of my time in Verdun, only officers - in pairs - were allowed out.

The French government did their best to cover up the whole thing - threatening the USA when a couple of Stars & Stripes reporters tried to release photos of the carnage.

I was told - from a third-person source - that they were highly pissed because they felt deserted by the French government in Indo-China and North Africa.

I think your tale leaves out quite a few facts. Kinda like the one about the French not allowing Legion combat troops on the mainland during that period. In addition to the "ragtag" army of Algerian rebels, that would be sorta of like saying a ragtag army of VNA ran the Americans out of Vietnam. Politicians did all the running.

Politicians again stopped one of the best counter-insurgency operations in history (as nasty as it was) due to there lack of commitment and distaste for what really occurred in the war. The French public lost the commitment as did there President/PM. There were 500,000 regulars and colonials involved, not just some 30K plus Legion and not all those were committed to overthrowing the French govt.
The 1stBEP was disbanded and the 2eREP was relocated to the island of Corsica eventually.

"Master Sgt", I would be interested in some collaborating evidence, as a student of history one man's opinion means little. No insult, but can you corroborate through documented history?

Thanks and regards
Bob Underwood

From http://www.legionofthelost.com/gallery.html

Since its inception as a throwaway army for fighting in France’s overseas colonies, the Foreign Legion has had a love-hate relationship with its adoptive homeland. After the failed Algerian putsch in 1962, when the Legion itself was planning to para-drop over Paris to invade, De Gaulle considered disbanding it altogether. But after downsizing it to 8,000 men, stripping it of all heavy weaponry, the Legion was spared, packed up and re-headquartered to metropolitan France.

From http://french-foreign-legion.com/fre...n_history.html

1962 to the present day: after leaving Algeria, the regiments regrouped in the south of France and Corsica, or overseas in Djibouti, Madagascar, Tahiti, and French Guiana.

If you want more cites do a Google search for About 1,600,000 results!!

You do realize the book you quote was written by a deserter in the 90's. Jamie Salazar served less than 7 months in the Legion he never really served outside of basic training. If that is a reference you plan on using to back up YOUR experience, if so you ought to be ashamed. In fact, anyone whom would quote Jamie Salazar is laughable.

He was a deserter with less than 1 year service, the Legion experience bad or good does not begin until you are in your regiment. Salazar and "his escape from France" is an almost hilarious story considering the facts about going home. You failed. He wrote a book about failing in the Legion. LOL

If needed I can get his complete service record. Which sounds about as full of BS as your "fiction" regarding the Legion in Verdun in 61'. Easy to find the truth.....but I will let you drive your cab and continue to BS the public. Try Socnet.com or Cervens forum and see how far your tales get. Vetted sites.

Oh and the Legion has been gone from Tahiti for quite some time and has recently left Djibouti for the UAE in the last 6 months. Sir, you sound like a goggle commando....

Originally Posted by lvcabbie

Again, a little late to this thread but thought I'd share a personal experience with the French Foreign Legion.

I went to Verdun, France with a signal company when the Berlin Wall and Iron Curtain was erected. Not long after we got there, France got themselves whipped by a ragtag army in rebels in Algeria and began to pull the Legion back to France - they had nowhere else to put them, outside of disbanding them.

We were all shocked when the entire US Military forces in Verdun were put on high alert, we were all issued arms and ammo, and extra security was put on all the entrances to the barracks. All civilian employees were also brought on base and put up in temporary quarters.

For the next week, the Gendarmes in Verdun hid out in the barracks and stations while Legionaires rampaged through the streets. Any female outside was attacked and violated. They broke into and looted a number of shops and stores. They took over most of the hotels and turned them into pig sties.

It was only when their own officers began executing them and called in other French Army forces that it stopped. The legionaires were locked up in the barracks and, for the remainder of my time in Verdun, only officers - in pairs - were allowed out.

The French government did their best to cover up the whole thing - threatening the USA when a couple of Stars & Stripes reporters tried to release photos of the carnage.

I was told - from a third-person source - that they were highly pissed because they felt deserted by the French government in Indo-China and North Africa.

Do you know what happened in Algeria? When De Gaulle ordered a withdrawal from Algeria several Generals committed treason by ordering the 1st REP to overthrown the French Government. The government had to use French military personnel to arrest them.

France only just narrowly avoided a civil war.

The result was that the 1st REP was disbanded, the Generals were imprisoned (they would have been shot if France hadn't abolished the DP), the FFL was stripped of all heavy weapons and the entire legion became a new branch of special forces/quick reaction force under French military authority.

We were all kept well aware of what was going on in Algeria and Indochina. I know some will belittle the Stars & Strips but it did a good job of keeping up with such news.
I well remember how some of the French civilians working on our base were so upset upon hearing that a FFL unit was being assigned to a post just outside of Verdun.
In spite of what some posters here so vehemently declare, Legionaires did show up in Verdun and caused a great deal of trouble.
In Jan 1962, I was a Personnel Actions Specialist assigned to the 246th Signal Company in Maginot Kaserene, Verdun, France

I am not trying to start or even continue a fight on the subject. I know what I saw, heard and otherwise experienced.

French Military (most likely Airborne) units NOT Legion. Period. Nowhere near that AO.
History is what is is. Quoting Jamie Salazar's book....bad start to gaining any credibility.
Regards
Bob Underwood

War is cruel. Whatever the war.