La Prière du Para (The Paratrooper's Prayer) is a French poem found in the possession of the presumed author, Aspirant (Brevet-Lieutenant) André Zirnheld, upon his death in Libya on June 27, 1942. The Paratrooper's Prayer has been adopted by all French Metropolitan and Marine Infantry Paratrooper Units and Regiments except for the parachutist of the French Foreign Legion who have their own poem, as well as the Portuguese Paratroopers. The Prayer appears before A. J. Quinnell's novel Man on Fire, the main protagonist of which is an ex-paratrooper in the Legion. This prayer also appears in Lt. Col. Dave Grossman's book, On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace and Rogue Heroes by Ben Macintyre.
The Prayer of the Paratrooper
- (Translation by Robert Petersen)
Video The Paratrooper's Prayer
References
- Anthony W. Pahl, International War Veterans' Poetry Archive
Source of article : Wikipedia