THE EXECUTION OF FRANCO HAITIAN WHO DIED FIGHTING THE NAZIS IN WWII

The Franco Haitian Who Died Fighting the Nazis in WW2

Tony Louis Marie Edmond Bloncourt was born on February 25th, 1921, in Jacmel, Haiti, to a French mother and a Guadeloupean father.

In 1939, he was sent to France to study medicine at the Faculty of Sciences in Paris, and there he was active in the Union of Communist Students. After the Germans invaded France, he participated in a demonstration against the occupation at the Arc de Triomphe on November 14th, 1940.

In August 1941, Tony Bloncourt became group leader of the Youth Battalions and was one of the first members of the French resistance. He is the author of numerous armed attacks against members of the occupying army. On January 5th, 1942, he was captured and turned over to the Germans.

Tony Bloncourt is one of the seven accused in the trial at the Palais Bourbon from March 4th to 6th, 1942. This first trial was to send a message against anyone considering resisting the German occupation.

He was found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad. On March 9th, 1942, Tony was executed at Fort Mont-Valérien. He was only 21 years old.

Before his death, Tony Bloncourt sent a letter to his parents in Haiti. In it, he said:

"Dear Mom and Dad:

You will know the terrible news already when you receive my letter. I die bravely. I do not tremble in the face of death. I do not regret what I did if it could serve my country and freedom!

I deeply regret leaving life because I felt capable of being useful."

Related topic

U.S. Army Air Forces Lieutenant Colonel Jay Zeamer, Jr. of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary actions on June 16, 1943, over Nuka area, Solomon Islands.

In October 1939, Zeamer applied for the Army Air Corps flight training program and was accepted in December.

His entrance to the program was deferred until after graduating from M.I.T. in June 1940 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, specializing in Structural Engineering.

Zeamer began elementary flight school training as a flying cadet in the Chicago School of Aeronautics, Glenview, Illinois, where his leadership skills earned him the position of Captain of Cadets of Class 41-B.

In March 1941, he received his wings and a commission in the U.S. Army Air Corps after graduating from basic and advanced flight school at Maxwell Field, Alabama.

On June 16, 1943, Zeamer led a crew on B-17E on an unescorted mission to Buka to photograph Japanese installations and map the west coast of Bougainville as far south as Empress Augusta Bay in preparation for the Allied landings scheduled for early November 1943.

Shortly before its completion, the B-17 was intercepted by five Japanese fighters attacking from the front.Despite his wounds from previously fired shells, Zeamer skillfully flew the plane to avoid any further damage.

Eventually, the Japanese planes broke off due to damage and lack of ammunition or fuel.

Zeamer was able to make an emergency landing at an Allied fighter airstrip at Dobodura, New Guinea

He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on this day.

Joseph Sarnoski was also awarded the Medal of Honor, the only instance of WWII when two members of one crew were honored for separate acts of heroism in the same combat engagements.

Zeamer was promoted to major in 1943 and then lieutenant colonel in 1944 before retiring on disability in 1945. He died in 2007 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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