The story of the realization of the memorial at Dien Bien Phu, created by the only sergeant Rolf Rodel
200 meters from the bunker of Colonel de Castries at Dien Bien Phu stands the first and only memorial dedicated to the French officers and soldiers who fell in battle.
This stele was erected on the personal initiative and built by Rolf Rodel of German origin, veteran of the French army, member of the ANAPI (National Association of Former Prisoners Interned and Deported from Indochina), ex-sergeant, commander of the 10th company, 3rd battalion of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (REI).
After enlisting in the German army, Rolf Rodel fought on the Eastern Front during World War II and was taken prisoner in the last days by the Americans.
He joined the Foreign Legion on April 19, 1950 and immediately volunteered for Indochina where he spent two tours. He was wounded 4 times during the battle on the Isabelle support point and experienced the detention of the Viet Minh camps. After his release, he resumed his service in the Legion, which he left on April 25, 1957. He thus served France for 7 years.
He never forgot his comrades who died there
In March 1992, the veteran returned to Indochina to revisit the places where he had fought. He discovered a small stele at Dien Bien Phu, a simple slab erected in 1984 by the Vietnamese authorities to respect the Geneva agreement – already in ruins. He restored it and returned to France. Unable to expect anything from the French government, he decided to take on the mission of “paying tribute to his brothers in arms” himself.
Rolf Rodel drew the plans for the memorial and sent the material to Vietnam. After overcoming bureaucratic hurdles, he bought a piece of land on the battle site and saw to the construction, financed the memorial with his own money and participated in the construction. In Vietnam, Rolf Rodel met many of his former Viet Minh opponents in high ranking positions and they helped him. After 6 weeks, the work was completed.
This monument was erected on the site of Eliane 2, now a cultivation ground, where almost 2000 soldiers were killed. It takes the form of a white obelisk surrounded by a low wall.
And it is still alone in the middle of the authorities and the Vietnamese crowd, that he inaugurates (unofficially) the monument, in May 1994, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the battle, not a single French representative is present except the German legionnaire Rolf Rodel.
A moving meeting between General Marcel Bigeard and this legionnaire on the site of Dien Bien Phu
On June 29, 1994¸ forty years after the battle, Bigeard arrived on the scene. Upset, he discovered the stele erected on the site of the fighting. “To recall the memory of our dead and all those useless sacrifices,” he wrote in “My Life for France. He kissed it and thanked it. Rolf Rodel pressed the button on a tape. “The March of the Foreign Legion” rose in the bowl of Dien Bien Phu, in the middle of a cornfield, then “La Marseillaise” …
Refunds
In 1995, Rolde and Colonel Jack Bonfils (Co-founder and National Vice-President of the ANAPI) met. Rodel told him everything he did, in great detail, but without saying a word about the financial cost.
The colonel, in collaboration with the Legion and veterans’ organizations, was able to reimburse Rolf Rodel for the costs he incurred in purchasing the land and building the monument.
In a meeting with President Chirac, the colonel told him of Rodel’s efforts to honor his fallen comrades. It was explained to him that Rodel did not receive the Military Medal during his service because he was on the Dutch side in Algeria in 1961. The president intervened and Rodel was quickly awarded the medal on April 30, 1995.
A maintenance agreement was signed in June 1998 between the French Embassy in Hanoi and Lai Chau Province. The place was taken over by the Embassy which now sees to its maintenance.
An official inauguration was held in 1999. But the veteran, who died on January 5, 1999, was unfortunately unable to attend. His last wish: That his ashes be scattered in Tonkin where he left his soul and his comrades.
