“One evening, my husband called me to tell me that he was hospitalized because he was not feeling well. But he tells me not to worry…” It was ten years ago but Véronique Boyer remembers it as if it were yesterday. How can you not worry when you are a soldier's wife and your husband is somewhere, 5,000 km from home, in a dangerous region of Africa?
Sunday November 10, 2024, with the support of the National Office for Combatants and Victims of War (Onacvg 35), the entire Boyer family met at Roazhon Park, in Rennes because her husband Emmanuel and their son Timéo, 15 years old, gave the symbolic kick-off of the match between Rennes and Toulouse. A first kick in the ball to launch the national donation campaign to Bleuet de France, a work which supports soldiers wounded in operations, war widows, wards of the Nation and victims of acts of terrorism.
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The big stadium, the crowd… “I was dreading… recognizes Emmanuel Boyer who served the army for twenty-seven years. My injury is not visible. I have PTSD…” It's post-traumatic stress syndrome, a psychological injury, a tear in the soul.
In external operation in Mali
Soldier in the 11th Marine Artillery Regiment (11th RAMa) of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier (Ille-et-Vilaine), he joined Mali in September 2013 for one of the last mandates of “Serval” (1) .
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With 25 comrades from 11e RAMa and soldiers from other regiments, Emmanuel Boyer joined the advanced base of Ménaka, in the north-east of Mali. French soldiers regularly carry out patrol missions. “We sometimes took the opportunity to do some shopping at a local market,” remembers the former master corporal of 1is class.
It was one morning in early November 2013 that everything changed in Emmanuel Boyer's life. “We heard a big boom near the base entrance post. It was a suicide attack. Immediately, we came under fire from jihadists”. The fight will last around twelve hours. “I didn’t sleep for the next three days. I went to see the base doctor. »
Emmanuel Boyer is put on treatment, his weapon is taken away from him, the diagnosis is made: post-traumatic stress syndrome. However, he remains in Mali until the end of the mission. “When he returned in February 2014, I found him completely changed. Daily life has become difficult and distressing: insomnia, nightmares, waking up suddenly, crying, screaming… remembers Véronique Boyer. Our children were still very young, they didn’t understand what was happening to their dad”.
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He takes his place at 11e RAMa but no longer carries a weapon. It was upon returning from a Sentinel mission in Orléans (Loiret), in 2016, that he was put on sick leave and began to be followed by psychologists, notably at the Clermont-Tonnerre military hospital in Brest. He is also accompanied by a social worker, by the army's wounded aid unit (Cabat) and by the Ad Augusta support association.
The regiment does not let him go. “In 2017, at the request of the commander, I took the position of president of the non-commissioned members. And a year later, I became president of the ranks of the naval troops. » However, he left the active army in 2019, on long illness leave.
Since then, he has become closer to the Team Seals association and the Resilience Foundation, which help victims of war and attacks. Emmanuel Boyer is now the delegate for the Great West. A commitment to serving others “who helps him move forward”recognizes his wife. “But the hurt will always be inside me”concedes Emmanuel.
(1) Operation Serval opened French engagement against jihadist groups in the Sahelo-Saharan strip which will be extended by Operation Barkhane (August 2014-November 2022).
