A review by desertjarhead505
Legionnaire: Five Years in the French Foreign Legion by Simon Murray

4.0

A classic military memoir. I can't help but be simultaneously struck by the youthful energy of this five-year diary and at the same time by the unusual level of insight and reflection on his own thoughts, actions, and emotions and on the events of the world around him. Mr. Murray is not only an excellent observer and storyteller, he is very tough and very talented, as shown both by his accomplishments during his five years in the Legion and by his success in the business world in the decades afterward. I would love to have the chance to sit and talk with him. There was only one element, albeit not a minor one though he treated it as such, that marred this story for me - a recounting of a nasty incident in which, upon learning that an officer in charge of his platoon had made a homosexual pass at another member of the unit, Murray flew into a rage and beat the officer up - the homophobia involved was considered a normal attitude in the 1960s, and especially in a military organization, but it is nonetheless very ugly. If I could talk with Mr. Murray now, I'd also ask him how he felt about that event after decades of reflection.
Still, overall this was a very well-written and remarkable story.