A solemn tribute to the "thousand faces" of Liberty
La Garde commemorated its Liberation with a solemn ceremony paying tribute to the diversity of the 1944 fighters.
On August 23, La Garde commemorated the 82nd anniversary of its Liberation during a ceremony filled with emotion and solemnity. In the presence of many prominent figures, including deputy Stéphane Rambaud and Jean-Louis Masson, president of the Département and first deputy mayor of the town, the event highlighted the plurality of those who participated in the Provence Landings and the reconquest of the national territory.
A change of perspective
Far from a simple historical recall, Hélène Arnaud-Bill, the mayor, proposed a change of perspective, inviting the audience to relive the days of August 1944 through the eyes of those who experienced them on the spot.
To embody this intimate approach, she evoked the poignant testimony of Andrée Perrot, who was twelve years old on August 15, 1944. Her childhood memory of "paratroopers coming out of the woods" illustrated the human experience of the Liberation.
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Through her eyes, the military operation under the code name "Dragoon", involving more than 2,000 ships, became once again a tangible and uncertain reality. The mayor thus stressed the contrast between current historical knowledge and the anxious waiting of the population at the time, who did not know the outcome of the fighting and lived to the rhythm of explosions and the arrival of the first allied soldiers.
The "thousand faces" of the Liberation
Her tribute insisted on the human mosaic that represented the effort of Liberation. The freedom that was arriving in Provence had, in the words of the speech, "thousand faces". Those of American paratroopers and commandos, but also those of the Var resistance fighters, emerging from secrecy to take part in the fighting.
A prominent place was given to the diversity of General de Lattre de Tassigny's Army B, a symbol of the rebuilt fighting France. This army included Free French from the very beginning, soldiers from the mainland, and a considerable contingent from the Empire: North African fighters, tirailleurs, spahis, goumiers, and soldiers from the overseas territories of the Pacific. All united under the same flag to liberate the motherland.
The mayor also reaffirmed the importance of the Provence Landings, often overshadowed in collective memory by those of Normandy. August 15, 1944 was not only a decisive strategic operation to trap the occupier; it marked above all the massive return of a French army to its own territory. This event has bestowed upon the people of the Var a special responsibility: that of telling and keeping this page of history alive.
The Routes varoises de la Liberté
Hence the initiative of the "Routes varoises de la Liberté", led by Jean-Louis Masson. This memorial project has made history visible in the daily lives of residents and visitors.
By marking the territory with milestones and explanatory panels, the Routes varoises de la Liberté invite people to rediscover local landscapes — a road, a beach, a hill — as places charged with history. The trail allows visitors to follow the progress of the troops, to locate the combat sites, the actions of the Resistance, but also to remember the suffering of civilians and the immense joy of freedom regained.
It is an essential duty of transmission, so that the memory of the sacrifices made does not fade and continues to inspire future generations, symbolized by the children present at the ceremony. For freedom, which then had a thousand faces, is today a common heritage.
Photos PRESSE AGENCE.