Manuel Llamas prefers not to talk about his first steps in working life. “It was not very glorious, although my work was honest”says this 90-year-old former soldier, raised near Nîmes.
Better to recount his long military career punctuated with success, of which he will still keep certain episodes silent “difficult to tell”.
Because it all began just five months before the Algerian War, on July 1, 1954. “As a teenager, I promised myself I would do my military servicehe says, determined. And now I was called to the 15th regiment of Senegalese riflemen, in Constantinois (northeast of Algeria, Editor’s note).”
Naturally gifted – “I was always first in class in my village”, he assures – Manuel Llamas attracts the attention of his superiors. And little by little he climbs the ranks: first corporal, then master sergeant.
Three quotes
But the calm does not last. On November 1, 1954, Manuel Llamas fell, shortly After his classes, into the Algerian conflict with the rest of his regiment: “I remember that a non-commissioned officer came to announce to us in these terms: “The fellaghas are here! We are asking for volunteers to patrol the city.”
Thing said, thing done. “I was the first to raise my hand.”, assures the veteran. The latter was then transferred to the Korea battalion, in Constantine, under the orders of Colonel Léopold Basilio – a Dracénoise figure who died in 2021.
“When there was a difficult or dangerous mission, my superior always sent me there”he adds with a certain pride.
An assignment that will last two years. In the meantime, Manuel Llamas briefly alternated between civilian life – once his military obligations had ended – and re-enlistment.
He ended up joining the 3rd Alpine Infantry Regiment (RIA): “By being successively leader of three Harkas, I obtained three citations: brigade, division and army corps.
Five and a half years later, in 1960, I received the military medal.” Distinctions considered exceptional, because they were obtained within a very short period of service.
After independence, the chief sergeant remained within the Local Force Unit (UFL), a mixed law enforcement force in Algeria, created on March 30, 1962 as part of the Evian Accords.
“I was chosen because I had a flexible enough mind to adapt to this new situation,” he believes.
Busy retirement
The rest of his career will consist of trips back and forth between France and across the Rhine, evolving with the French forces in Germany (FFA).
Not without having passed “easily” officer competitions. “I was first in the FFA ranking”, slips Manuel Llamas, yet another proof of his talent.
Distinguished once again for his “peacetime actions”, he left the army in 1983 with the rank of commander and the retirement of lieutenant-colonel.
Permanent departure? Far from there. The retiree joins the Association of French Union Fighters (Acuf) alongside its president Léopold Basilio, who appoints him standard bearer and member of the steering committee.
Brown belt in karate, cross-country skier and marathon runner, the tireless veteran is named “for his exemplarity” Knight of the Legion of Honor in 2015.
And, on Monday April 29, he was promoted to officer of the Legion of Honor by the commander, Robert Lalanne.
