Death of the Last Frenchman Who Participated in the Normandy Invasion

Leon Gauthier, the last surviving Frenchman who took part in the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944, passed away on Monday at the age of 100, as announced by local authorities. Gauthier was among 177 French individuals who participated in the landings on June 6, 1944, which marked the beginning of the decline of Nazi Germany's domination in Western Europe. Gauthier was a member of the special unit "Commando Kieffer," consisting of French fighters who continued to battle the Nazis alongside the United States, Britain, and other Allied forces even after the French government's surrender to Germany in 1940. Leon Gauthier died in a hospital in Caen early Monday, close to the shores of Normandy, where fierce battles are commemorated each year, according to Roman Bay, the mayor of the nearby town of Wistreham. The Allied landings on June 6, 1944, were the largest amphibious operation in wartime history.