Albert Charles Meyer was born on March 11, 1921, at Belfort.
He was 18 when the Second World War broke out, followed by the Occupation.
Then a student pilot, he attempted to no avail to cross over to England. Upon return to his home town, he joined the Resistance and served within the special military services. He founded the Bruno Network which subsequently became attached to the Kléber Network. And for four years, he fed the Allies with vital intelligence information on the German troops stationed in France and Belgium.
A Great Resistant Fighter
On November 11, 1944, he was arrested by the Germans and handed over to the Gestapo who, for one full week, interrogated and tortured him without being able to squeeze out a word from his mouth. He was transferred to Germany where he was condemned to death. Despite having been caught the first time he attempted to escape, he outmanoeuvred his guards the second time and successfully escaped. Having managed to save his life, he continued with his intelligence missions, notably during the Adrennes German counteroffensive in late 1944.
In 1951, Captain Albert Charles Meyer was yet in service in Indochina.
He was based in Bien Hoa where he had the duty of “transforming” rallied Vietminh partisans into commandos capable of carrying out counterespionage, military research and sabotage missions.
Founder of Air Commandos
In 1956, he initiated the creation of air parachutist commandos who proved their worth in Algeria. Albert Charles Meyer took over the command of Commando n° 10, and later on, from 1958 to 1960, he headed the air commando group.
Albert Charles Meyer, who had risen to the rank of Air Commodore (brigadier general in the air force), died on May 6, 2006, at the Percy hospital at the age of 85. His religious funeral took place at Cathédrale des Invalides on May 12, 2006.
A Hero, all simple and modest
He was a hero, yet a simple and straight person, characterized by modesty that bordered on humility. Having been wounded on several occasions during his career as a volunteer serviceman, he was commended 13 times, 8 of which were in the Army Order. He also received the most prestigious decorations, notably: