Pour les lecteurs étrangers, voici un texte sur la vie de Lazare Ponticelli en anglais :
Ponticelli's (Its birthday : 07/12/1897) role has an extra dimension of course: he was born in Italy. And when France's neighbour turned against its previous allies in Germany and the Austro-Hungarian bloc of that era, he also fought in Italian colours.
Ponticelli, who had enlisted in the famed French Foreign Legion (1th régiment étranger) at 17 in 1914 and was already active in the trenches (Battle : Sainte-Menehould, La Marne, Soissons, Argonne) , was called up by his homeland. He transferred to an Italian regiment ( 3th Alpini 159th compagnie) the following year (Battle : Monte Palpicolo, Monte Cucco, Monte Grappa).
With nothing worse than a wound to his cheek, he was demobilised in 1920 and returned to France in 1921, where he has remained ever since, receiving French nationality in 1939. During the ww2, it is in French Resistance. Ponticelli received France's highest award, the Legion d'Honneur, in 1995. Today, he lives with his daughter at Kremlin-Bicetre in the Val-de-Marne area north of Paris. 8.5 million men who fought between 1914 and 1918 under French colours.
PICTURE : Lazare Ponticelli, his daughter Janine and Association Historical " Les Francs-Tireurs Lorrains " german soldier (Julien) and french soldier (David) Ftlorrain@aol.com
