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| Lazare Ponticelli | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Allegiance | 1914-1915:  France1915-1918:  Italy |
| Service | French Army Italian Army |
| Years of service | 1914 – 1918 |
| Battles / wars | World War I |
| Awards | See the awards section |
| Other work | Piping and metal work |
Lazare Ponticelli (December 7, 1897 – March 12, 2008) was, at the time of his death, the last surviving documented French veteran of the First World War and the last poilu, or foot soldier, of its trenches. He originally lied about his age to join the French Army in 1914 but was transfered to the Italian Army in 1915 when authorities discovered his true ancestry. After World War I he founded the piping and metal work company "Ponticelli Frères" ("Ponticelli Brothers") along with his brothers, which partook in the Second World War effort and is still in existance today.
At the time of his death, Ponticelli was both the oldest living man born in Italy and the oldest man living in France. In his later years, he was very critical of war in general and kept his war awards in a shoe box. While he felt unworthy of the state funeral the French government offered him, he was eventually given one though he asked for the emphasis to be on the common soldier that died on the battlefield.
Early life and military career
Ponticelli was born "Làzzaro" in Groppo Ducale near the village of Bettola, Piacenza province, in northern Italy. One of seven children, his father worked as carpenter and cobbler and his mother worked as a rice harvester. In 1907, at age nine, he moved by train to Paris to join his two brothers after the death of his father and another brother. Though he spoke no French, he found work as a chimney sweep in Nogent-sur-Marne and later as a paper boy in Paris.
In August 1914, at 16, he lied about his age to join the 1 Régiment de Marche of the French Foreign Legion. Thus he served at Soissons in Picardy, northeast France and at Douaumont, near Verdun. He worked at digging burial pits and trenches. On one occasion he reportedly rescued both a wounded German and a wounded French soldier caught on the front lines.
With the entry of Italy into the First World War in 1915, Ponticelli was told he had to join the Italian Army and was discharged. At first refusing to leave, Ponticelli was escorted by two gendarmes to Torino, where he joined a regiment of Alpini for service against the Austrians.
At his new post as a machine gunner, Ponticelli was seriously wounded by a shell during an assault on an Austrian mountain position. He described the event in an undated interview as "blood running through eyes" but he "...continued firing despite wound." After undergoing surgery, Ponticelli travelled back to his post. In 1918, he was gassed in an Austrian use of a chemical weapon that killed hundreds of his fellow soldiers. Reflecting on war, he said: "You shoot at men who are fathers. War is completely stupid." In one of his last interviews, Ponticelli stated he was amazed at his own survival.
Work with Ponticelli Frères
After being demobilised in 1920, he founded a piping and metal work company with his brothers called "Ponticelli Frères" ("Ponticelli Brothers"), which became wealthy, still exists today and is well-known in its field. At the time of his death it was reported that the company had 4,000 employees.
During the Second World War, Ponticelli, who had just recently become a French citizen, was too old for combat and supported the war effort through his company. He moved his factory into an unoccupied zone when Germany invaded and occupied France. When Vichy France became also occupied, he returned northwards and began working with the resistance. Ponticelli himself continued managing the company until 1960.
Later life
Ponticelli lived with his daughter in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France and frequently attended Armistice Day ceremonies. He initially stated he did not want a state funeral, though the death of the second-to-last soldier, Louis de Cazenave, on January 20, 2008 forced him to reconsider. He eventually accepted a small ceremony "in the name of all those who died, men and women", during WWI. His state funeral was held on March 17, 2008. Flags were ordered to be flown at half mast and Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president unveiled a plaque dedicated to the veterans of World War I.
Ponticelli died at 12:45 pm (1145 GMT) at his home in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre on March 12, 2008, aged 110. Sarkozy released a statement and said there would be a day of national remembrance for the war dead of France. He is survived by at least a daughter, Janine Desbaucheron, though information on other survivors is not known.
His state funeral was held on March 17, 2008. Flags were ordered to be flown at half mast and Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president unveiled a plaque dedicated to the veterans of World War I. At the funeral Benoit Hopquin, a journalist with the French newspaper La Monde said of Ponticelli:
He was very simple, very polite. He was speaking, not for him, not for the glory. He was speaking for all the other people. All his brothers in arms who died in the trench. When they began to, when they got out of the trench for the assault, they told them, just between them all those dead. They tell themselves, if I die, please don't forget me. That's exactly what Mr Ponticelli was doing during all his life. He thinks of his friends as dead. He told me, all those dead, you can't forget them.
— Benoit Hopquin
Awards
- Croix de Guerre
- Médaille Interalliée (World War I Victory Medal (United States))
- Légion d'honneur
- Order of Vittorio Veneto
See also
References
- ^ Martin, Douglas (2008-03-13). "Lazare Ponticelli, France's Last Veteran of World War I, Is Dead at 110". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
- ^ "Lazare Ponticelli: Veteran who fought for France and Italy in the First World War". The Times. 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
- ^ "France's final WWI veteran dies". BBC News. 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
- ^ Kantner, James (2008-03-12). "Lazare Ponticelli, 110, last 'poilu' of World War I trenches". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
- ^ "Lazare Ponticelli, 110; France's last surviving World War I veteran". Los Angeles Times. 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
- ^ "Last French World War I Veteran Dies at 110". Associated Press. New York Sun. 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
- ^ {{cite news |first=Lisa |last=Millar |date= 2008-03-18 |title= France honours last WWI veteran |url= http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/18/2193155.htm |publisher= News] |accessdate= 2008-03-24}}
- "France's oldest WW1 veteran dies". BBC News. 2008-01-20. Retrieved 2008-01-20.