Always nice to see the Legion old timers in uniform with their medals. Takes a lot of character to serve for all those years, hats off to them from France !
Légionnaire one day, légionnaire for ever ! We French all have respect and admiration for these men who served our country with honor and courage. Including this Johnny Leggett, of course. Thank you for all you've done, Johnny !
I was in the Canadian Army and my Sergeant was from the French Foreign legion. He was a scary and at the same time amazing human. I will always fondly remember him and what he taught us.
I was in Kuwait City in Mar-Apr 91 with Canadian EOD, and one sector had Legionnaires. One of them was wounded in a mine and was medevaced to the American field hospital in Subhan district. I'd gotten to know one of the surgeons who turned out to be Canadian but practising in California. He collared me to come translate between the medical staff and the Legion officer (a haughty prick if I ever met one). But, as soon as the US Army reservist slipped in a Spanish word, everything changed because the wounded man's NCOs spoke better Spanish than English Canadian me speaking French Canadian to them.
It was about 1970 a friend [ex Somerset Light Infantry] and I had been hitch hiking in Southern France, we approached the French Foreign Legion office, seated was an English Legionnaire. We told him that we wanted to join up. He said, come back when you are sober, we never did. Looking back, some regrets.
What a humble gentleman, the funny thing is that hes speaking about his deeds like its a sundaywalk downtown,which makes it even more spellbound listen to him,could listen to this rawmodel of a man for hours,kudos to him, and thank you for posting it,great interview.
Wow, I thought I'd be listening to a Frenchman. When the MCpl opened his mouth and had the same accent as my Mom and Mother-in-Law, boom, mind blown. Thanks for the explanation brother!
la seule loi qui est passé à l'unanimité à l'assemblé national c'est la loi donnant la nationalité Française aux légionnaire après 5 ans pour dire que c'est vraiment quelque chose ou les Français sont tous d'accord
I served in the British army on operation granby ( gulf war 91). I received the bottom right 2 medals displayed...both the Kuwait and Saudi medals weren't to be worn in uniform and were given as a keepsake.
Thanks so much for producing this and interviewing Johnny. An honourable and interesting man. TH-cam has some fantastic content and this is one of them. Keep up the good work.
Will never forget meeting a Frenchman at a Rouen cafe. He told me he was un retraité (ie retired). I said, you look too young to be retired, he said, 'service militaire' and tapped his dodgy knee. We chatted on in French. At the time I was travelling a lot in Africa. Thought I was the bee's knees. He asked me where I had been. I said Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, all by motorbike. He said 'aha, les pays touristiques'! Of course he had served in Chad, Mali, Somalia, Libya, Algeria..... Will never forget that great man.
I’m an American who often thought about joining the legion in my younger years. I channeled my energy into being a merchant seaman and contractor in SW Asia for 13 years. I love these stories.
@@bastogne315 why did you try to join the IRA and the British army, thatd be like getting rejected from the Ukrainian army and then applying for the Russian Army😂
This has been a brilliant watch. As an ex Sapper in the british army and from west lothian i have heard about this man. Us scots have always been good at keeping up the moral its just the norm for us id say. True gentleman and warrior. Would love to have a drink with this man.
Late to this but its a fantastic interview. My grandfather was a scot and served in the legion after spending time in both the British and US Army. He got into trouble back here in the UK and fled to France managing to join the legion at 39, just before he would have reach the cut off age for being too old. He ended up deploying to central africa where he spent his 41st birthday and then went to Beirut not long after coming back from Africa. Unfortunately Beirut was a really horrific deployment and he ended up deserting once he got back to France. I believe he was in his 5th year with a few months left on the contract but he just couldnt put up with the standard military BS after spending months in combat. He was in around the same time as Johnny too but I doubt they would have crossed paths as my grandfather spent his whole legion career 2e REI. Really looking forward to any further interviews with Johnny if he comes on again.
really interested to hear that they speak french when theyre grafting and english or other on chill time. i worked in a few hotels where foreign languages are banned at work, everybody must speak english, it's great for communication and great for those learning english. same with this gent with learning french.
Anyone remember the "Corporal Johnny" from that amazing Legion book (John Robert Young) from 1984? He was British and was getting out after 20 yrs. He was name was "Pauline," or at least that was his nom de guerre. Great, beautiful book / photo essay.
I watched a British television programme many years ago, that showed various aspects of the Legion. Mostly basic training at The Farm, I think it was called and then the film crew followed several recruits to their first postings, I think. They ended up filming a jungle assault course. Possibly in French Guyana. This was part of the jungle training that every recent recruit undertook I think. I will never forget how tough the course looked. It was much more challenging than regular army assault courses that I've gone through in the UK and seen in the US. Added to that, soldiers who do this particular assault course are covered in mud and soaking wet almost from the get go. Anyway. I think Legion recruits were allowed about forty minutes to complete the course. And you needed to act as a team to get, say a platoon, through the course. Many obstacles, you could only get through, with teamwork. The film crew filmed a cadre of Legion recruits doing the course and it looked brutal. They did the course in about forty minutes I think. The officer running the exercise told the film crew director that recently they'd had a group of regular French Army jungle trainees through, as well as a group of US Marines. The French Army group did the course in about two hours, I think. Something like that. But, the US Marines took about five hours, if my memory serves. That one long edited piece and the anecdotes told about how foreign formations coped on the assault course, confirmed everything I'd ever heard about the Legion, from reliable sources. Including Simon Murray's excellent book about his five years in the Legion in Algeria in the 1960's. Personally, I never had the privilege to witness the Legion on operations. But, if I could've had a choice, the Legion would've been amongst my first few choices to guard my flanks and it would be a very short list. The only criticism I have of this interview is that it wasn't longer. I learnt many things that I'd not heard before or had forgotten. Any soldier, who served in a professional army, can understand what Johnny was talking about. For those of us who never served in the Legion, this interview was pure gold. As are others like it. Thank you Johnny, for sharing some of your experiences and I hope that you're enjoying your honourable retirement.
Wow this is a great comment, thank you. The full interview with Johnny ran an hour but we cut it down as felt it would service better on TH-cam closer to 15 mins, he had so many good things we settled on 25. Maybe I can release the edited content as short videos for those who would be interested in seeing it all. Please let me know. We are actually having Johnny back as well as other veterans along with non military based interviews so if you have any questions for the other vets(check the promo video for more info) or any questions for Johnny please submit them in the comments and I’ll be sure to ask him in his next session with us . Was the show you watched the Bear Grylls show ? I think he did something with the legion
@@POVCAST_YT You're very welcome. I'd have a bit more time for Grylls than others, but generally wouldn't watch anything with 'celebs' in it. No, this television programme was first broadcast in the late eighties or nineties I think. A few Brit recruits were briefly interviewed, along with the odd English speaking NCO and of course French officers. I'm qualifying everything I'm saying here, because my memory is beyond terrible in certain respects. Visual images I seem to remember better and I'll never forget some of the obstacles in this particular Legion assault course. It was definitely a UK produced programme, but I can't recall which production company made it. I'm also qualifying a lot of what I'm saying here because I wouldn't wish to detract from the truth. To put it in context as best as I can. I'd say that the Legion assault course in Guyana would at least be on a par with anything you'd have to do in US Ranger selection. But I can't recall if the US Rangers actually do assault courses as part of their selection. I'll Google it and if I can find it or references to it, I'll post them here. You ought to ask Johnny about the assault course in Guyana on camera, with no notice. He'll have done it. Although given his rank and age, when he was in Guyana he might not have. Its that brutal. I'm suggesting asking him on camera, because I suspect his reaction would be priceless. Of course I can't speak for others. However, I suspect strongly, that many, many of your subscribers and others would love to see a lot more of Johnny's content. I wouldn't have specific, tightly focused questions for Johnny. Especially as I've not seen the content you haven't shown already. Apologies for criticising how you edited Johnny's interview. I forgot that TH-cam administers content by algorithm and what the algorithm favours at any one time. I used to know all this and had forgotten. What might be worth considering is asking him to take you through his postings. Give a general impression of each posting and how it was regarded / rated within the Legion. Maybe how the Legion regards / rates its own branches / regiments. For example. The Legion parachute regiment would regard themselves as the elite and there's ......not sure how to put it.....a certain reputation it might still have because of it's links to the attempted coup in France in.....1962 was it? I'm reaching a bit here, because strictly speaking it was the other Legion parachute regiment of that time, that was tasked to jump into and secure central Paris, if the coup had looked like succeeding. When the dust settled, that regiment was disbanded over the affair. This is ancient history now. But, the Legion celebrates and owes it's culture to many very old occurrences. Like the 1863 Battle of Cameron. First hand oral histories like this are priceless.
Lots of interesting stuff there and I’ll be sure to ask Johnny about the courses and various regiments and how they are regarded. He mentioned he did commando training so I’d like to ask a bit more about that
@@POVCAST_YT The Legion had a commando cadre whose abbreviated name spelt CRAP or something very similar, which I always thought was a bit unfortunate. It's name has since changed. It might've been on a par with US Marine Recon units or Royal Marines. Possibly even SAS/SBS/US SEALs or US Delta. If that was the unit he was in, that experience ought to yield some eye popping experiences.
Respect à vous monsieur. Mes oncles ont été légionnaire, l'un est mort en Indochine, l'autre a fait l'Algérie. il n'ont jamais démérité, jamais trahi leurs paroles. Legio Nostra Patria.
One of the things to remember is that the Legion is a worldwide organization. and when General Scharwkorpf said in an interview "the legionnaires have given me a card and if one day I have a problem anywhere in the world dial this phone number and your troubles will end" I wish Normann never had to use that e phone number. Sorry for my english.
Do not apologize, my friend. Your English is excellent. I remember when the General said those words, and as an American, I was supremely proud. Thank you for your comment, and health to you and your loved ones.
I will watch this with my son ,l joined the cookhouse when l was a boy .l just soldering boring stuff .This man is a legend. Watching from Scotland peace and love to all
Feel free to share the video :) would lots to share his story and if people are interested we’d love to have Johnny back and answer questions from subscribers
I had a [US] Army buddy who ended up joining the Legion. We served together in Central America back in the bad old days of Reagan-era gunboat diplomacy and he got out just afterwards. He never really 'made it all the way home', so to speak, and had a hard time on Civvie Street. Then he sells everything, catches a flight to Paris and joined the Legion. We kept in touch off and on [Christmas cards and whatnot] and at my last hearing of him [late 90s] he was a Mareschal de logis in the 1'er REC. Because of him, I've read more than a little bit on French military history.
Loved his final quote "I'm getting old now, but I like to think the only thing that still works is my trigger finger" Awesome video and I love hearing Scottish vereran stories, I tried to find Scottish WW2 vets stories and there really were not a lot. Bit unrelated I suppose😅 He seems like a great guy
I was working with a guy a few years ago who was in the Legion 1 rec his name was Danny Mitchell did you come across him seemed like a good bloke enjoyed your story.
My grear grandfather was awarded the french highest order. The legion d honneur .. for his actions in france in ww2 . Dunkirk. He returned minus an eye and 2 fingers. He the the crux de guerre too.
"I never fired a round out of anger". This is true professionalism, I goes for whatever you do be it police, journalism or prison guard - even if the task is siege Bucha. Leave your feelings at home and take decisions with your prefrontal cortex - not with your amygdala.
Johnny Thanks for your reply its always nice to see and know men like you send back a wonderful reply thanks so much it means a lot after so many yrs service its great to know great men like you and myself served within the l legion Étranger not many as you said know the regime seeing is believieing thank you for sharing your chanell.
@@POVCAST_YT That doesn't surprise me. What was really good, that Johnny served all those years in the Legion, with so many different nationalities, and his accent is still loud & clear Scottish. (Jock). Just going through the clips you added.......
Very apt in these times when the vax has been found to cause issues. What went from "Safe and effective", suddenly very quickly has turned into "Sudden and unexpected".
I was in the British army infantry from 1979-1983 I won’t say what regiment but I went over to France 🇫🇷 to join Legion on Cameron day April 30th 1983 just 3 months after being in CIVI street any way to cut a long story short I didn’t join in end but what I saw impressed the hell out of me The French Foreign Legion looks a lot tougher than the British Army and American Army and that’s including The Royal Marines and Paras the Legionaries also look fitter and more professional
I met a few Legionaires in Gulf 1. They were heading all the way up north. We were heading east. We were also awarded the Saudi & Kuwait lib medals but were not allowed to wear them. We were issued the Gulf war medal with clasp. 👍very interesting chat
I also have the Gulf war medals. We were never allowed to wear them. Display only. ⚓️🇬🇧 Great to hear your story. I was in Djibouti in ‘89. Lovely place 🤣🤣
That is very true.Personally I never had a problem with the French people.I wouldn't have had because my son was born in Bastia in 1986,whilst I was serving in 2eme REP.
Fantastic interview. I would try and interview, Commander Howard Leedham RN MBE, who led a fascinating life in the services. Howard Leedham’s military career is unusual. He started life as a Royal Navy clearance diver, was commissioned, became a Commando helicopter pilot, and served in the Special Forces. Twice decorated for gallantry, he became the first British officer to command a US Marine Corps squadron on active service. He wrote the book Ask Forgiveness Not Permission: The True Story of his Discreet Operations in Pakistan's 'badlands'.
Sounds like he’d be a great conversation though it looks like he’s based in Dubai and for the time being (we are a new and currently small channel) I don’t think he’d be wanting to travel to us and we’re not in position to cover his costs but we’d definitely love to speak to him so maybe it’s one we can revisit in the future.
@@jimbo250686 Well if you're able to reach out and if he's interested let us know how to get in contact as it would be great to start a dialogue 😄 thank you
I have the upmost respect for decent old soldier I joined up myself around the same time in to the British army , to serve 15 years in the legion is something to be extremely proud of admirable good luck to you !! Ps , I heard that these days the legion don’t allow east Europeans or is it just Albanians can’t remember, I heard they do their basic then get posted abroad and do one , never to be seen again just repeating what I heard not sure myself
@@bushwhackeddos.2703 I am so sad to hear that. Because I planning to turn myself around and work on my body and stamina this year. I am an Albanian from Kosovo that would never use the opportunity of the legion to get my papers to live in Europe.
@ read it again !! don’t you understand perfectly good English (… I heard that east Europeans or is it Albanians ) can’t remember that is a question not an accusation, I also finished the post with (just repeating what I heard not sure myself ) is that so hard for you to understand?? why would that be about Albanians the answer is as above ☝️
Our most recent interview came out yesterday - Watch here! - th-cam.com/video/fG6Z4Z4oJcA/w-d-xo.html
Always nice to see the Legion old timers in uniform with their medals. Takes a lot of character to serve for all those years, hats off to them from France !
Yes, he didn’t want to bring them initially but we asked him if he would . Glad he did
@@POVCAST_YT Out of modesty probably
@@Froggmeningreen I believe so.
You would think he would wear a beret that fits him
@@darrenn438 in the legion 👌 most wear there berets Very Small 👍 GTC 👹🏴👍
From West Lothians myself and Ex Brit Army. What a humble Soldier, great bloke!!!
Gawd how atrocious his French must have been with that accent 😂😂😂
Great to see Johnny looking so well and thanks for interviewing him. Johnny was a legend in my time and was lucky enough to see him in Guyane.
Légionnaire one day, légionnaire for ever ! We French all have respect and admiration for these men who served our country with honor and courage. Including this Johnny Leggett, of course. Thank you for all you've done, Johnny !
I'm sure hell appreciate all these hresy comments
I was in the Canadian Army and my Sergeant was from the French Foreign legion. He was a scary and at the same time amazing human. I will always fondly remember him and what he taught us.
Sounds like a nice memory
I was in Kuwait City in Mar-Apr 91 with Canadian EOD, and one sector had Legionnaires. One of them was wounded in a mine and was medevaced to the American field hospital in Subhan district. I'd gotten to know one of the surgeons who turned out to be Canadian but practising in California. He collared me to come translate between the medical staff and the Legion officer (a haughty prick if I ever met one). But, as soon as the US Army reservist slipped in a Spanish word, everything changed because the wounded man's NCOs spoke better Spanish than English Canadian me speaking French Canadian to them.
In the early 60 i was in the old colonial unit ( marine infantry now ) i meet some of them in Madagascar and Djibouti , very good souvenir
I know what you mean. I've worked with ex-Legionaires. Great lads yet very capable of handling anything in an instant. Vive La Legion.
It was about 1970 a friend [ex Somerset Light Infantry] and I had been hitch hiking in Southern France, we approached the French Foreign Legion office, seated was an English Legionnaire. We told him that we wanted to join up. He said, come back when you are sober, we never did. Looking back, some regrets.
Could have quite easily gone the other way. Imagine waking with a hangover in the barracks with a new name and a PT season to do
That’s a true story, I know it.
thats my godfather❤
He was a pleasure to speak with
Hes mine also 🍒
@@polpotnoodle7441 we related?
@@braydeneastman5779 he’s taking the pish
@@Peskyjooba lmao
Good to see you are still going strong 👍😎
Great talk!
Cheers 🇨🇵
LPN
Yes, Good to see him after all these years Adj.
We are happy and excited to share this interview with ex-french foreign legionnaire Johnny Leggett, who was an absolute star during this shoot.
What a humble gentleman, the funny thing is that hes speaking about his deeds like its a sundaywalk downtown,which makes it even more spellbound listen to him,could listen to this rawmodel of a man for hours,kudos to him, and thank you for posting it,great interview.
Our pleasure. More to come.
@@doublewhopper67 Anything else to add?
Wow, I thought I'd be listening to a Frenchman. When the MCpl opened his mouth and had the same accent as my Mom and Mother-in-Law, boom, mind blown.
Thanks for the explanation brother!
Imagine how difficult it was for him to communicate with the French. Probably a good job most were not French
A humble man with great stories, respect frère
He was so happy to see the warm response for this interview that he has agreed toncome back for an Ask Me Anything session!
You are held in very high esteem by us the French indeed. We’re so contradictory… But not with you. Thank you Sir, from the bottom of my froggy heart.
You are very welcome
Ribbit!
la seule loi qui est passé à l'unanimité à l'assemblé national c'est la loi donnant la nationalité Française aux légionnaire après 5 ans pour dire que c'est vraiment quelque chose ou les Français sont tous d'accord
Salute to Corporal Chef Leggett. While I served in a different Army, we share two of the same medals and mutual respect for another combat veteran.
Which medals do you share ?
I served in the British army on operation granby ( gulf war 91). I received the bottom right 2 medals displayed...both the Kuwait and Saudi medals weren't to be worn in uniform and were given as a keepsake.
@@POVCAST_YT Gulf War medals...
Thanks so much for producing this and interviewing Johnny. An honourable and interesting man. TH-cam has some fantastic content and this is one of them. Keep up the good work.
Thank you
Guys like this a rare and fading breed. Thoroughly fascinating, and a joy to listen to ❤
Glad ya liked it, be sure to check out Cliff and his story
Absolutely inspiring.
Never once did he mention kill or win.
A gentleman that knows what stories are NOT to be told blasé
That’s an American thing called BRAGGING,not british or french
He did say the IRA guy was killed in the jungle....
By a tree not from a fire fight
@@POVCAST_YT How the hell did he get killed by a tree?? Thanks for answering btw.
Total respect for this Corporal who contributed to the influence of the Foreign Legion. Thank you.
He would say himself he's 1 of many
Will never forget meeting a Frenchman at a Rouen cafe. He told me he was un retraité (ie retired). I said, you look too young to be retired, he said, 'service militaire' and tapped his dodgy knee.
We chatted on in French. At the time I was travelling a lot in Africa. Thought I was the bee's knees. He asked me where I had been. I said Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, all by motorbike. He said 'aha, les pays touristiques'!
Of course he had served in Chad, Mali, Somalia, Libya, Algeria.....
Will never forget that great man.
Always nice to hear these kind of stories
Great story and self reflection too
Great job Corporal Johnny! Thank you for your sharing of yourself with us. Semper Fidelis Semper Paratus.
We'll have Johnny back to answer more questions and tell some tales.
@@POVCAST_YT I think that is a very smart thing to do.
@@loydevan1311 stay tuned as well open up for submissions for the audience as well
A Corporal chef is something to be.
“Honneur et Fidelite”. Honour and Faithfulness. This man has it in spades !. Scotland should be proud of this Ex Legionnaire. I am. JR
We are
Scotts are oldests french allies. Respect for all the Scotts ;)
Fluent french speaker…….pure class!👏
Oui oui!
Hallo from Tony's Irish pub, " La Gobelet de Argent " . I was there from 1985 till 1998 . Knew alot of lads from the Légion.
Bon Retrait 👍☘️🤠.
Hello 👋 :)
Hi Liam, Tony's was a great little pub...many a good pint there during my time. I hope the years have been good to you
Absolutely Fascinating... Happy Sunday All
I've been Fascinated by the French Foreign Legion since I was a Child of the Seventies
I’m an American who often thought about joining the legion in my younger years. I channeled my energy into being a merchant seaman and contractor in SW Asia for 13 years. I love these stories.
Thanks for watching. More stories like this coming soon so make sure to subscribe :)
When I turned 18 i tried to join the British Army, Irish Army, RUC and the IRA. They all rejected me...the pain has not gone away....
Why did they reject you if ya don't mind saying
@@bastogne315 why did you try to join the IRA and the British army, thatd be like getting rejected from the Ukrainian army and then applying for the Russian Army😂
La légion étrangère est très respecté par les français , longue vie à vous !
One of the best human beings I have ever known………..👏👏👏 Class act!
This has been a brilliant watch. As an ex Sapper in the british army and from west lothian i have heard about this man. Us scots have always been good at keeping up the moral its just the norm for us id say. True gentleman and warrior. Would love to have a drink with this man.
We will pass the kind words on to Johnny!
RE👊🏽
i served with him in 6REG in the gulf
Late to this but its a fantastic interview. My grandfather was a scot and served in the legion after spending time in both the British and US Army. He got into trouble back here in the UK and fled to France managing to join the legion at 39, just before he would have reach the cut off age for being too old. He ended up deploying to central africa where he spent his 41st birthday and then went to Beirut not long after coming back from Africa. Unfortunately Beirut was a really horrific deployment and he ended up deserting once he got back to France. I believe he was in his 5th year with a few months left on the contract but he just couldnt put up with the standard military BS after spending months in combat. He was in around the same time as Johnny too but I doubt they would have crossed paths as my grandfather spent his whole legion career 2e REI.
Really looking forward to any further interviews with Johnny if he comes on again.
Thanks for your comment. Hoping to have him back soon
Great stuff. Hats off to this fellow Scot! 👍🏴
BRAVO et merci Caporal Chef Lawson pour vos services à la patrie!
Johnny is a lovely guy ,,, had many a pint with him ,, humbled
He is that
I remember Johnny from St Pancras boxing club, I knew he was in the Legion, but I didn’t know he was that good!!
His English was perfect with a beautiful scottish accent and was easy to understand and I’m English, a lovely man.
What a guy! One of the best 👏👏👏🤝
He was a good fun to speak with
really interested to hear that they speak french when theyre grafting and english or other on chill time. i worked in a few hotels where foreign languages are banned at work, everybody must speak english, it's great for communication and great for those learning english. same with this gent with learning french.
Great to see an old friend, a really excellent interview, and you are looking good. From M.D. Manders. ( Amazing ).
Thank you kindly! We'll let him know
A great man ,I’m seriously proud of my Scottish neighbours
Fantastic interview! Very interesting man…….👏👏👏Well done.
He was a lovely man and an absolute gentleman to work with. We'd live to get him back if the viewers have AMA questions for the guy too!
What a great bloke. Pity I could hardly understand him😂. Live long.
Anyone remember the "Corporal Johnny" from that amazing Legion book (John Robert Young) from 1984? He was British and was getting out after 20 yrs. He was name was "Pauline," or at least that was his nom de guerre. Great, beautiful book / photo essay.
Tell us more
I have the book,yes I remember.
@@yan24to I wonder what happened to that interesting fellow.
Corporal johnny was actually a caporal chef he was from liverpool originally ,from what i remember he stayed in france
@@simonrobson2293 the book said he had an accent from I thought it said from a northern area of England.
I watched a British television programme many years ago, that showed various aspects of the Legion. Mostly basic training at The Farm, I think it was called and then the film crew followed several recruits to their first postings, I think. They ended up filming a jungle assault course. Possibly in French Guyana. This was part of the jungle training that every recent recruit undertook I think.
I will never forget how tough the course looked. It was much more challenging than regular army assault courses that I've gone through in the UK and seen in the US. Added to that, soldiers who do this particular assault course are covered in mud and soaking wet almost from the get go.
Anyway. I think Legion recruits were allowed about forty minutes to complete the course. And you needed to act as a team to get, say a platoon, through the course. Many obstacles, you could only get through, with teamwork. The film crew filmed a cadre of Legion recruits doing the course and it looked brutal. They did the course in about forty minutes I think. The officer running the exercise told the film crew director that recently they'd had a group of regular French Army jungle trainees through, as well as a group of US Marines. The French Army group did the course in about two hours, I think. Something like that. But, the US Marines took about five hours, if my memory serves. That one long edited piece and the anecdotes told about how foreign formations coped on the assault course, confirmed everything I'd ever heard about the Legion, from reliable sources. Including Simon Murray's excellent book about his five years in the Legion in Algeria in the 1960's.
Personally, I never had the privilege to witness the Legion on operations. But, if I could've had a choice, the Legion would've been amongst my first few choices to guard my flanks and it would be a very short list.
The only criticism I have of this interview is that it wasn't longer. I learnt many things that I'd not heard before or had forgotten. Any soldier, who served in a professional army, can understand what Johnny was talking about. For those of us who never served in the Legion, this interview was pure gold. As are others like it. Thank you Johnny, for sharing some of your experiences and I hope that you're enjoying your honourable retirement.
Wow this is a great comment, thank you.
The full interview with Johnny ran an hour but we cut it down as felt it would service better on TH-cam closer to 15 mins, he had so many good things we settled on 25. Maybe I can release the edited content as short videos for those who would be interested in seeing it all. Please let me know. We are actually having Johnny back as well as other veterans along with non military based interviews so if you have any questions for the other vets(check the promo video for more info) or any questions for Johnny please submit them in the comments and I’ll be sure to ask him in his next session with us . Was the show you watched the Bear Grylls show ? I think he did something with the legion
@@POVCAST_YT You're very welcome. I'd have a bit more time for Grylls than others, but generally wouldn't watch anything with 'celebs' in it. No, this television programme was first broadcast in the late eighties or nineties I think. A few Brit recruits were briefly interviewed, along with the odd English speaking NCO and of course French officers. I'm qualifying everything I'm saying here, because my memory is beyond terrible in certain respects. Visual images I seem to remember better and I'll never forget some of the obstacles in this particular Legion assault course. It was definitely a UK produced programme, but I can't recall which production company made it. I'm also qualifying a lot of what I'm saying here because I wouldn't wish to detract from the truth. To put it in context as best as I can. I'd say that the Legion assault course in Guyana would at least be on a par with anything you'd have to do in US Ranger selection. But I can't recall if the US Rangers actually do assault courses as part of their selection. I'll Google it and if I can find it or references to it, I'll post them here.
You ought to ask Johnny about the assault course in Guyana on camera, with no notice. He'll have done it. Although given his rank and age, when he was in Guyana he might not have. Its that brutal. I'm suggesting asking him on camera, because I suspect his reaction would be priceless.
Of course I can't speak for others. However, I suspect strongly, that many, many of your subscribers and others would love to see a lot more of Johnny's content. I wouldn't have specific, tightly focused questions for Johnny. Especially as I've not seen the content you haven't shown already. Apologies for criticising how you edited Johnny's interview. I forgot that TH-cam administers content by algorithm and what the algorithm favours at any one time. I used to know all this and had forgotten.
What might be worth considering is asking him to take you through his postings. Give a general impression of each posting and how it was regarded / rated within the Legion. Maybe how the Legion regards / rates its own branches / regiments.
For example. The Legion parachute regiment would regard themselves as the elite and there's ......not sure how to put it.....a certain reputation it might still have because of it's links to the attempted coup in France in.....1962 was it? I'm reaching a bit here, because strictly speaking it was the other Legion parachute regiment of that time, that was tasked to jump into and secure central Paris, if the coup had looked like succeeding. When the dust settled, that regiment was disbanded over the affair. This is ancient history now. But, the Legion celebrates and owes it's culture to many very old occurrences.
Like the 1863 Battle of Cameron.
First hand oral histories like this are priceless.
Lots of interesting stuff there and I’ll be sure to ask Johnny about the courses and various regiments and how they are regarded. He mentioned he did commando training so I’d like to ask a bit more about that
@@POVCAST_YT The Legion had a commando cadre whose abbreviated name spelt CRAP or something very similar, which I always thought was a bit unfortunate.
It's name has since changed. It might've been on a par with US Marine Recon units or Royal Marines. Possibly even SAS/SBS/US SEALs or US Delta. If that was the unit he was in, that experience ought to yield some eye popping experiences.
I’ll be sure to ask Johnny about that. I’m sure he has a lot he didn’t even get to talk about last time
What a cracking bloke. Very interesting sir. Happy retirement. Would love to know more. Best wishes from Cornwall👍👍👍
Make sure you're subscribed so you can see his return :)
Respect à vous monsieur. Mes oncles ont été légionnaire, l'un est mort en Indochine, l'autre a fait l'Algérie. il n'ont jamais démérité, jamais trahi leurs paroles. Legio Nostra Patria.
A treasure trove of knowledge, thank you for your service
Great interview Johnny, glad to see you doing well mate!!
Thanks
Some of the toughest, most disciplined soldiers. That's for sure...
You should feel his handshake...
One of the things to remember is that the Legion is a worldwide organization.
and when General Scharwkorpf said in an interview "the legionnaires have given me a card and if one day I have a problem anywhere in the world dial this phone number and your troubles will end"
I wish Normann never had to use that e phone number.
Sorry for my english.
I'll ask Johnny about Schwarzkopf as I believe he was in Kuwait going from his medals
And he was made an honorary corporal of the FFL.
Do not apologize, my friend. Your English is excellent. I remember when the General said those words, and as an American, I was supremely proud. Thank you for your comment, and health to you and your loved ones.
This guy is legendary
I will watch this with my son ,l joined the cookhouse when l was a boy .l just soldering boring stuff .This man is a legend. Watching from Scotland peace and love to all
Brilliant interview(s) - really enjoyed the explanations.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Well done corporal legget great story 👏 🏴
He has many stories and will be back to tell them in the future
Yes lad! What a proper legend. Great insights from a life lived well.
Yes indeed
Nothing but respect for you Sir!
Proud man! Great life story 👏👏👏
Feel free to share the video :) would lots to share his story and if people are interested we’d love to have Johnny back and answer questions from subscribers
Thank you for your service, sir! The French Foreign Legion is one of the top of my list of People I don't Want Mad at Me! ^_^
You are held in high esteem by many in the global community sir...
🇿🇦
It would appear so!
In the 13 did you serve Escadaron was the village called Ohuea,just up from the petrol station.
I had a [US] Army buddy who ended up joining the Legion.
We served together in Central America back in the bad old days of Reagan-era gunboat diplomacy and he got out just afterwards. He never really 'made it all the way home', so to speak, and had a hard time on Civvie Street. Then he sells everything, catches a flight to Paris and joined the Legion. We kept in touch off and on [Christmas cards and whatnot] and at my last hearing of him [late 90s] he was a Mareschal de logis in the 1'er REC.
Because of him, I've read more than a little bit on French military history.
Loved his final quote
"I'm getting old now, but I like to think the only thing that still works is my trigger finger"
Awesome video and I love hearing Scottish vereran stories, I tried to find Scottish WW2 vets stories and there really were not a lot. Bit unrelated I suppose😅 He seems like a great guy
There won’t be many guys left to tell those stories. We’d love to get someone in who can so watch this space
Absolute respect for Corporal Cliff Purvis and for those before and those who follow.A breed apart.
Any thing you'd like to ask him this Saturday
Thank you for uploading
This guy worked in mine clearing on the front in Iraq.. brave man.
I was working with a guy a few years ago who was in the Legion 1 rec his name was Danny Mitchell did you come across him seemed like a good bloke enjoyed your story.
I can confirm what he says about us being anti-Army but we love our Legion Etrangere
Thank you for sharing. Awesome to hear your story.
Thanks for watching!
You was a legionarie something I allways wanted to be , take my hat of yo yah brother for actually being one
Scotsman. Legend❤🏴💪
My grear grandfather was awarded the french highest order. The legion d honneur .. for his actions in france in ww2 . Dunkirk. He returned minus an eye and 2 fingers. He the the crux de guerre too.
Excellent, I could listen to him tell stories for hours
Respect éternel ! Vive les paras vive la légion !
Love hearing the old boys tell their tales.
Something about them being older just makes you...pay attention...
Excellent story, Well done sir.
What a great guy, I found it very interesting.
Class!!!!!! Act!!!!!
"I never fired a round out of anger". This is true professionalism, I goes for whatever you do be it police, journalism or prison guard - even if the task is siege Bucha. Leave your feelings at home and take decisions with your prefrontal cortex - not with your amygdala.
Like he says, it's a job treat it as such
Honour fidelity, Forever the Legion
Johnny Thanks for your reply its always nice to see and know men like you send back a wonderful reply thanks so much it means a lot after so many yrs service its great to know great men like you and myself served within the l legion Étranger not many as you said know the regime seeing is believieing thank you for sharing your chanell.
Thank you for watching and ill be sure to ask johnny about the man you mentioned. We've just put out a new interview hope you enjoy it
What a great interview with a really interesting man. Good health and enjoy your retirement.
He's still out and about scaling the Scottish mountains
@@POVCAST_YT That doesn't surprise me. What was really good, that Johnny served all those years in the Legion, with so many different nationalities, and his accent is still loud & clear Scottish. (Jock). Just going through the clips you added.......
Haha yes indeed a proud Scotsman through and through
Pay attention to the old man in a world where the men die young!
Just pay attention, always!
I believe the quote you were going for was, "Beware of an old man in a profession where men usually die young."
Very apt in these times when the vax has been found to cause issues. What went from "Safe and effective", suddenly very quickly has turned into "Sudden and unexpected".
@@mikechedzoy4866 Did I miss something in this interview, because I don't recall the gentleman being interviewed saying about the "vax".
@@stanleydragon9548 I know, my comment was nuanced. Forget it.
I was in the British army infantry from 1979-1983 I won’t say what regiment but I went over to France 🇫🇷 to join Legion on Cameron day April 30th 1983 just 3 months after being in CIVI street any way to cut a long story short I didn’t join in end but what I saw impressed the hell out of me The French Foreign Legion looks a lot tougher than the British Army and American Army and that’s including The Royal
Marines and Paras the Legionaries also look fitter and more professional
I met a few Legionaires in Gulf 1. They were heading all the way up north. We were heading east. We were also awarded the Saudi & Kuwait lib medals but were not allowed to wear them. We were issued the Gulf war medal with clasp. 👍very interesting chat
thanks for the comment :)
Nicely done......seems like a nice humble man
Very humble
I also have the Gulf war medals. We were never allowed to wear them. Display only. ⚓️🇬🇧
Great to hear your story. I was in Djibouti in ‘89. Lovely place 🤣🤣
Legends!
Merci Monsieur !
Thank you
@@POVCAST_YT As I am a French citizen, I can confirm you that the Légionnaires are in high esteem in the population.
@@khaelamensha3624 thank you for confirming 😀
That is very true.Personally I never had a problem with the French people.I wouldn't have had because my son was born in Bastia in 1986,whilst I was serving in 2eme REP.
good interview and he was great speaker sharing his adventure in the legion
Merci Monsieur Lawson.
A life well lived, very interesting to listen to, top bloke
Make sure you're subscribed for new interviews and johnny’s return
Great story
Great interview!!
Thanks
Fantastic interview. I would try and interview, Commander Howard Leedham RN MBE, who led a fascinating life in the services. Howard Leedham’s military career is unusual. He started life as a Royal Navy clearance diver, was commissioned, became a Commando helicopter pilot, and served in the Special Forces. Twice decorated for gallantry, he became the first British officer to command a US Marine Corps squadron on active service. He wrote the book Ask Forgiveness Not Permission: The True Story of his Discreet Operations in Pakistan's 'badlands'.
Sounds like he’d be a great conversation though it looks like he’s based in Dubai and for the time being (we are a new and currently small channel) I don’t think he’d be wanting to travel to us and we’re not in position to cover his costs but we’d definitely love to speak to him so maybe it’s one we can revisit in the future.
@@POVCAST_YT he does come home regularly. May be worth contacting him and find out when. Or I could ask him
@@jimbo250686 do you know him ?
@@POVCAST_YT Yes I served with him
I am still in contact with him
@@jimbo250686 Well if you're able to reach out and if he's interested let us know how to get in contact as it would be great to start a dialogue 😄 thank you
I have the upmost respect for decent old soldier I joined up myself around the same time in to the British army , to serve 15 years in the legion is something to be extremely proud of admirable good luck to you !! Ps , I heard that these days the legion don’t allow east Europeans or is it just Albanians can’t remember, I heard they do their basic then get posted abroad and do one , never to be seen again just repeating what I heard not sure myself
Why would that be about Albanians?
@ nobody seems to like them.
@@bushwhackeddos.2703 I am so sad to hear that. Because I planning to turn myself around and work on my body and stamina this year. I am an Albanian from Kosovo that would never use the opportunity of the legion to get my papers to live in Europe.
@ read it again !! don’t you understand perfectly good English (… I heard that east Europeans or is it Albanians ) can’t remember that is a question not an accusation, I also finished the post with (just repeating what I heard not sure myself ) is that so hard for you to understand?? why would that be about Albanians the answer is as above ☝️
How is Bobby, Johnny, nice to see you are still around.
We’ll pass on your message
Merci Monsieur.
Fascinating!!!!
Thanks buddy! Glad you think so!
Fantastic thanks for posting
No worries. If horror is your thing maybe you’ll like some of our movie based content