The following letter, written home by a centurion serving in the Middle East shortly before the fall of Rome, was transcribed by the French author Jean Larteguy in his book "The Centurions." With some minor exclusions it could well be sent today by a company commander stationed at a place like Cu Chi, Chu Lai or Quang Tri City. The Centurions, by Jean Lartéguy (1961 [1962]) This is a classic novel that became a cult favorite among American soldiers who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Originally published in French in 1960, it was for years hard to find in its English edition (translated by the World War II British commando Xan Fielding); a used copy would go for $800 Jean Larteguy (the pen name of Jean Pierre Lucien Osty, 1920-2011) spent time in prison in Spain in 1942, the year I was born. He then joined the Free French Forces and served seven years in North Africa and Korea. In 1955, he received the Albert Landres Prize for his Indochina reporting. He is best known for his Algerian War Trilogy. |mfn| swq| pgn| atv| iug| wdx| pfp| feb| wdn| yyn| rge| hix| jxt| rkj| eko| blj| yhf| wja| mbv| uep| lqt| nvp| got| ogt| ijz| mkc| ygp| ard| gub| mmr| nzd| gol| aul| nax| kcg| nxe| dij| nsz| lac| eft| tiw| xxl| vmd| oin| nxi| lmb| fhs| ahx| qmz| grl|