GUERIN André

André Guérin was born on April 7th, 1913 in Marseille.

In May 1931, only 18 years old, André Guérin signed a 3-year commitment for the Air Force and joined the 2nd Aerospace Workers Group. He was named student pilot in October 1932, and at the end of his contract, in 1934, re-engaged for 2 years. He will then be assigned to the Cazaux base before joining Nancy in August 1934. André Guérin will never leave the Air Force, reengaging at the end of each contract.

On the sidelines of his military career, André, thanks to a daring little word, meets a young woman, Elise Bonnevialle who will become his wife on February 15, 1936. They will have 4 children: Alain (1938) -Geneviève (1940) - Roland (1941) and Veronique (1950).

In May 1939 he was admitted to the corps of junior career officers, and it was with the rank of Staff-sergeant that he joined the GR II / 33 Reconnaissance Group at the mobilization. He will carry out the whole campaign of France in this group, where he will be working with Captain Saint-Exupéry. The name of André Guérin will be cited in the book "Those who have never seen" from Guy Bougerol, chaplain Air, which chronicles in this book the daily life of this unit thrown into turmoil. (See excerpt from the book in next chapter)

On May 22, 1940, Warrant Officer André Guérin, piloted the Potez 637 No. 49 (registered C-633) for a reconnaissance mission in the region of Amiens - Arras - Douai - Cambrai - Péronne. Severely touched by the FLAK near Bapaume, André, Guérin managed to land in the countryside. The crew, Lieutenant Israel (Observer) Staff-Sergeant Hincker (Gunner) and himself, unscathed, managed to evacuate the aircraft shortly before its explosion.The three men will however be made prisoners. Interned at first at DULAG LUFT Oberursel, transient camp, then STALAG LUFT Frankfort on Main, André Guérin will remain in captivity until March 13, 1941.

Returning from captivity, André Guérin was assigned to GR I / 51 and, in October 1941, to GR II / 33, a unit based in El Aouina, Tunisia. After the landing of the Allies in North Africa in November 1942, he joined the Free French Forces in Algeria, and was assigned in February 1943 to the Air Company No. 12. He will then be transferred to the GR II / 52 Reconnaissance Group in August 1944 and to the GT II / 15 "Anjou" Transport Group on April 1, 1945, where he will fly DC3 "Dakota".

After the Armistice, André Guérin temporarily joined the GT I / 15 Transport Group in August 1946, while awaiting his demobilization, which was effective on September 15, 1946: he was officially declared on staff leave for 3 years. But in January 1947, this cancellation of the aircrew was canceled and he resumed service at the warehouse 601 Chateauroux.

The end of his career will be punctuated by two long term sick leave (3 and 5 years) and André Guérin will finally be retired in May 1958. He leaves the Army with the rank of Captain, and with, behind him, a career filled with 27 years .... It has accumulated more than 2258 hours of flight including 31 Missions War Above the enemy (Reconnaissance and Bombing) and has been cited 4 times. André Guérin is Chevalier of the Legion of Honor and holds, among others, the Military Medal and the Croix de Guerre.

André Guérin will die on February 7, 1963 in Pau, aged only 50 years following a disease contracted in captivity.

Narrated by the Warrant Officer André GUERIN, of the mission of May 22, 1940, at the end of which he will be made prisoner :

Excerpt from the book "Those we've never seen before the chaplain Air Guy Bourgerot
"To the south-east of Bapaume, a column of smoke, the observer wants to realize, I weave through the valleys, among the wooded hills, the escarpments, using all the accidents of ground likely to rob me from the indiscreet views and at the fire ... until the moment, when, arrived in a sort of dead-end, I find myself face to face with a formation of enemy tanks, strong of about thirty-fives gear, rest on plateau Can not avoid them. As they are as surprised as me and I have on them, the advantage of speed, I have time to fly over them, not without having wiped a hail of lead, as tight as it is untimely. The plane is literally chopped by bullets. Three shocks more brutal than the others, they are shells of 20 ... Fortunately, we are coming out of the dangerous field, but in what state! Left engine stopped, air duct cut, planes and fuselage in skimmer, trains and shutters suddenly out. I stand ready for any eventuality and seek a makeshift field in case the situation gets worse. This precaution is not in vain, because the gunner shouts to me that the left engine is on fire. The sum is not far ... But can we win the lines? Little hope ... All this happened in less than a minute. We are moving very slowly. The right engine in turn gives signs of fatigue. Will he flinch too? We are losing altitude. We will have to ask ourselves. Here is the inevitable electric line that we pass just in front of a small field. I cut essence and contact. We drive. A fence, a wooden horse, dust. A cow, who must have mistaken us for a train, flees frightened ... I do not know why I noticed this detail because in less time than it takes to write it, we are all three downstairs and run to hide in the woods, abandoning our steed to his sad fate. The left engine is still burning. We look at each other, we are conscious of leaving a friend who has shared our joys and our hardships. The fire wins, the flames rise, the sheets twist and melt. A dull sound, a huge red and black tulip, smoking metal debris: these are the last impressions that we have given our poor 63 ... For him, everything is over ... For us, it's not the same thing ... The German patrols, attracted by the noise of the explosion, will try to capture us. After a game of some hide-and-seek, we are taken prisoner and taken without further ado. Tonight the registrar will write on his book: "Plane Potez 637 No. 49 not returned". We will be missing. The captain will not be able to give his report, and our comrades will come to pick up the information that we did not report. May the lot be more favorable to them ...

Successive ranks of André GUERIN :

Ranks		Appointment Dates	References
Corporal	:	September 1st, 1933	Official Bulletin No. 26 of August 25, 1933
Master-Corporal	:	November 8, 1935	Order No. 28 of the Commander of the 1/2 Air Brigade
Sergeant	:	November 21, 1935	Order No. 29 of 21 Wing
Staff-Sergeant	:	January 1st, 1939	Official Journal of February 22, 1939
Adjutant	:	January 1st, 1940	Order of Nomination No. 1 of January 27, 1940
Chief-Warrant-Officer	:	December 1st, 1942	Order of Nomination No. 5021 of January 04, 1943
Sub-Lieutenant	:	June 25, 1944	Decree of September 29, 1944 - Order No. 452532 of October 30, 1945
Lieutenant	:	June 25, 1946	Decree of June 08, 1946 - Official Journal of July 13, 1946
Captain	:	April 1st, 1951	Decree of March 30, 1951 - Official Journal of April 1, 1951

*His assignments :* During his career, from 1931 to 1958, André Guérin will join the following assignments: :
- May 6, 1931 - October 26, 1932	:	2nd Group of Aeronautical Workers in Istres
- October 26, 1932 - August 1, 1933	:	Becomes a student driver at the 1st Company of Pupils
- August 1st 1933 - March 30th, 1934	:	Assigned to the 2nd Air Battalion
- March 30, 1934 - August 1, 1934	:	Affected at Cazaux Air Base No. 4
- 1st August 1934 - 02 September 1939	:	Assigned to Nancy Air Base 121
- September 02, 1939 to May 22, 1940	:	Recognition Group GR II./33
- May 22, 1940 - March 13, 1941	:	In captivity in Germany at Stalag Luft (Frankfort on Main)
- March 13, 1941 to June 12, 1941	:	Assigned to Salon Base
- June 12, 1941 - October 10, 1941	:	GR I / 51 Recognition Group in Lézignan
- October 10, 1941 - March 27, 1943	:	Assigned to GR II / 33 at El-AOUINA in Tunisia
- March 27, 1943 - August 3, 1944	:	Air company n ° 12 in LAGOUHAT
*- August 3, 1944 - April 1, 1945*	:	Assigned to Recognition Group GR II / 52
- 1st of April 1945 - 2nd of August 1946	:	Assigned to Transport Group GT II / 15 A "Anjou"
*- August 2, 1946 - September 1, 1946*	:	Assigned to GT I / 15 Transport Group
*- 1st September 1946 - 19th January 1947*	:	Radiated Air Force Officers
- January 19, 1947 - February 25, 1948	:	Assigned to the Meeting and Personnel Administration Center 203 of Valencia
- February 25, 1948 - April 1, 1951	:	On long-term sick leave
- 1st of April 1951 - 13th of April 1953	:	Assigned to Air Base 706 of Cazaux
*- April 13, 1953 - March 31, 1958*	:	On long-term sick leave
*- March 31, 1958 - May 12, 1958*	:	Temporary assignment awaiting his Admission to the Retreat

Rewards :

Knight of the Legion of Honour	July 14, 1950, published in the Official Journal on July 20, 1950
Military Medal	July 05, 1941
War Cross 1939 - 1945	17-12-1939: With Etoile de Vermeil 05-07-1941: With Palme 18-12-1946: With Bronze Star
Medal commemorative War 39-45 Italy - Liberation - Germany	Note n ° 10 of January 29, 1948
Fodder port in the colors of the Croix de Guerre 39-45

Citations :

*December 17, 1939*	General Order No. 9 of the Eastern Armed Forces Operations Zone of 17/12/1939 Pilote de premier ordre a montré au cours de plusieurs reconnaissances, les plus belles qualités militaires. En particulier, le 31 octobrec 1939 a contribué à prendre des photographies du plus haut intérêt pour le commandement. Au retour de cette mission, attaqué à 60 kilomètres chez l'ennemi par la chasse adverse, a réussi à se dégager après un combat au cours duquel son mitrailleur a été grièvement blessé et son avion criblé de balles. This quote includes the award of the Croix de Guerre with Vermeil's Star
*July 05, 1941*	Order of the Army n ° 40 of 05/07/1941 Pilote ardent d'une haute valeur morale. Le 22 Mai 1940, son appareil ayant été grièvement atteint au cours d'une mission de grande Reconnaissance (moteur gauche stoppé en feu, circulation d'air coupée) a réussi grâce à son habileté et à son sang-froid à atterrir et à sauver son équipage 25 war missions over the enemy. Already quoted. This citation includes the awarding of the Military Medal and the Croix de Guerre with Palm
*October 09, 1944*	Order of the Air Division n ° 15 of 09/10/1944 Equipage ailier confirmé ayant permis à sa section grâce à sa bonne tenue de vol de groupe d'obtenir d'excellentes concentrations de bombes sur des objectifs de faibles dimensions au cours des opérations de préparation de débarquement dans le sud de la FRANCE Collectif order
December 03, 1945	Testimony of satisfaction of the Minister of the Air Force n ° 504 of 03/12/1945 Le Ministre de l'Air est heureux de témoigner la satisfaction à l'équipage du Dakota C.47882 pour les efforts dignes d'éloges qu'ils ont fait pour assurer malgré des conditions difficiles, le rapatriement des corps des deux militaires tombés à EL ALAMEIN qui ont été inhumés au MONT VALERIEN le 11.11.1945
*December 18, 1946*	General Order No. 73 of 18/12/1946 Air Division General GERARDOT, Chief of Staff, and General of the Air Force quotes to the order of the Air Brigade Sub-Lieutenant GUERIN André said "GRANDVAL", of G.T. 2/52 "FRANCHE-COMTE" Pilote extrêmement confirmé. Au cours de ces derniers mois a participé à de nombreuses missions de bombardement sur des objectifs fortement défendus. D'un courage remarquable, a été blessé le 24 décembre 1944 au cours d'un atterrissage forcé en territoire ami, où il avait réussi à ramener son appareil gravement endommagé par la D.C.A ennemie. Has already been cited. This quote includes the award of the War Cross with Bronze Star