Date of birth:

August 26th, 1915 (Nice, France)

Date of death:

April 23rd, 1946 (Can Tho, South Viet-Nam)

Nationality:

French (1870-present, Republic)

Called up for military service in October 1937, destined for aviation, he was not accepted because of his poor eyesight and, on leaving the school for reserve officers in Poitiers, he was assigned to the 4th Regiment of divisional artillery (4th RAD) in Colmar in October 1938.

During the Strange War, seeking activity, Second Lieutenant Chareyre obtains to make an observer stadium by plane in Dinard.

Withdrawn to Pau in June 1940, he immediately reached London by embarking on the Sobieski, a Polish boat which left Saint-Jean-de-Luz on June 21, 1940. Engaged in the Free French Forces, he took part in the Dakar operation in September 1940.

In Brazzaville, he was assigned as a lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion of the Cameroon Rifle Regiment (RTC) with which he took part in the rallying operations of Gabon in October and November 1940. In December 1940, his unit took the name of Marching Battalion n ° 4 (BM 4). Leaving Gabon in December 1941, Albert Chareyre was assigned with his unit in Ethiopia until May 1942 then in Lebanon.

In January 1943, BM 4 joined the 2nd Free French Brigade to take part in the campaign in Tunisia. On May 11, 1943, he was shot in the left forearm and left thigh during the attack on hill 136 in the Takrouna region. Despite his injury, he manages to bring a group of prisoners back to the Battalion HQ. From April to July 1944, he took part in the Italian campaign, during which he was promoted to captain. On August 16, he landed in Cavalaire, in Provence. A few days later, on August 20, he was again shot in the left armpit in fighting in the Hyères region. On August 23, he distinguished himself particularly during the attack on hill 132, by maintaining a difficult and dangerous connection within his units. At the beginning of 1945, Captain Chareyre took part in the campaign for the liberation of Alsace (January-February). With the BM 4, he ended the campaign in France by fighting in the Alps, and freed Breil on the Tende-Vintimille road.

From the end of the war, he volunteered for the Far East. In January 1946, he embarked with the 43rd RIC for Cochinchina where he was responsible for regional security and pacification. Accidentally injured on April 21, Albert Chareyre died on April 23, 1946 following his injuries at Cantho hospital where he was buried.

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• - Albert CHAREYRE | L'Ordre de la Libération et son Musée