30 years ago, on October 26, 1993, Michel Blondeau, then mayor of Déols, and General (2s) Claude Grenard, at the time Colonel commanding the “Ecole de Spécialisation du Matériel de l’Armée de Terre” (ESMAT), inaugurated, in Déols, the stela and the crossroads in memory of the WW1, WW2 and the Indochina and Algeria wars veterans from Deols.

On this occasion, the transfer of command of CCS 2 between Captains GALLANT and BERGER also took place.

30 years later, the members of “Les Amis de La Martinerie” remembered this ceremony and suggested Mrs. Delphine Geneste, current mayor of Déols, to commemorate this anniversary.

With her consent, a laying of wreaths was organized on Saturday November 25, 2023 in the presence of Thibault Lanxade, prefect of the Indre department, François Jolivet deputy, Marc Fleuret president of the departmental council, Delphine Geneste mayor of Déols, Michel Blondeau honorary mayor of Déols and Jean-Jacques Bérenguier president of “Les Amis de La Martinerie”.

Several Veterans' associations, around twenty standard bearers, several young elected officials from the Déols municipal council, firefighters, members of “Les Amis de La Martinerie” and many Déols residents were present.

This monument, shaped out of a single block by members of the “Centre Européen de Rénovation du Patrimoine” (CERP), known today as FOREPABE, represents "a woman with long hair, gazing, advancing barefoot with, in her hand, a torch standing. There is, to her right, a naked child and, to her left, a prostrate soldier seated side view.

Acknowledging that “la maison départementale de la mémoire militaire” lives up to its name, Delphine Geneste and Michel Blondeau wanted to thank “Les Amis de La Martinerie” for their vigilance, for their concern to preserve military memory and for their desire to revive all the symbols which are linked to this memory.

La NR article dated November 29, 2023

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