John Hasey, Second Lieutenant of the 13th DBLE

Lieutenant John Hasey after returning to the United States, 1942

Born on November 3, 1916, in Brockton, Massachusetts, John Hasey's parents were industrialists. He attended Columbia university, and was sent to France, by his father, to study language in 1937. After arriving in France, Hasey decides to remain in the country after his studies, getting a job as a salesman at Cartier in Paris. With the outbreak of war, Hasey joins a unit of American medical ambulance volunteers attached to the French Army. In December of 1939, his unit is sent to Finland to aid the Finnish army against the invading Russians. Wounded in February 1940, in Finland, he is repatriated to the United States. He returns to France in 1940, where after the collapse of French resistance against the Germans, he leaves for England, officially joining the Free French Forces on August 24, 1940.

Commissioned as a second lieutenant, serving in the medical branch of the Free French Forces, he serves in all the major campaigns of the Free French Forces during the remainder of 1940, which included Dakar and Gabon. In January of 1941, he is transferred to the 13th DBLE. He is cited for valor at Eritrea, and for subsequent reconnaissance patrols he took part in, traveling behind enemy lines. In Syria, on June 20, 1941, he is severly wounded by six times by a machine gun, and is not expected to survive. He is sent to a hospital in Jerusalem to recover, and then later arrives back in the United States, in January of 1942. He is promoted to full lieutenant, personally by De Gaulle, and awarded the award for liberation in April of 1942. Offered a commission in the American Army, he decides to continue service with the Free French. From October of 1942, he serves as an officer instructor in the Free French Forces.

In August of 1943, he is promoted to captain and placed on General Koenig's staff. He follows Koenig into Paris in August of 1944, and remains with the Free French throughout the remainder of the war. After the war, Hasey again returns to his job at Cartier. In 1949, he returns to the United States. He enters the CIA, and remains with the organization until his retirement in 1974, and having served with the organization in 17 different countries. John Hasey passes away on May 9, 2005, in Arlington, Virginia, where is also buried.

During his service with the Free French Forces, John Hasey received the following awards/decorations:

*Legion of Honor *Wound Medal *Order of Liberation *War Service Medal 1939-45