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Lazare Ponticelli

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Lazare Ponticelli
Lazare Ponticelli (center) between two reenactment members in old uniforms in 2006
Allegiance1914-1915: France France
1915-1918: Italy Italy
Service/branchFrench Army
Italian Army
Years of service1914 – 1918
Battles/warsWorld War I
AwardsCroix de Guerre
Médaille Interalliée
Légion d'honneur
Order of Vittorio Veneto[1]
Other workPiping and metal work

Lazare Ponticelli (December 7, 1897[A] – March 12, 2008) was, at the time of his death, the last documented surviving French veteran of the First World War and the last poilu, or foot soldier, of its trenches. Born in Italy, he originally lied about his age to join the French Army in 1914 but was transfered to the Italian Army in 1915 when authorities discovered his true ancestry. After World War I he founded the piping and metal work company "Ponticelli Frères" ("Ponticelli Brothers") along with his brothers, which assisted with the Second World War effort and is still in existence today.

At the time of his death, Ponticelli was both the oldest living man born in Italy and the oldest man living in France. In his later years, he was critical of war in general and kept his war awards in a shoe box. While he felt unworthy of the state funeral the French government offered him, he eventually accepted one, although he asked for the emphasis to be on the common soldier that died on the battlefield.

Early life

Ponticelli was born "Làzzaro" in Groppo Ducale near the village of Bettola, Piacenza province, in northern Italy.[2] Raised in the mountain village of Cordiani, he was one of seven children born to Jean and Philomena Ponticelli.[3] His father worked the fairgrounds and occasionally as a carpenter and cobbler.[3] His mother cultivated the family's small plot of land and, like many women of the area, commuted three times a year to the Po Valley to work in its rice fields.[2] When Lazare was two, his mother moved to France to try to earn a better living.[3] After the unexpected death of their father and his eldest son, Peter, the rest of the family moved to Paris, leaving Lazare in the care of his neighbors.[3]

At the age of six, Ponticelli started working several jobs, including making clogs.[4] In 1906, at age nine, he saved enough money to buy a train ticket to Paris.[2][3][4] Though he spoke no French, he found work as a chimney sweep in Nogent-sur-Marne and later as a paper boy in Paris.[2][5][6]

World War I

In August 1914, at 16, he lied about his age to join the 1st Régiment de Marche of the French Foreign Legion, in which his older brother Céleste already served.[2][5][3] According to Ponticelli, France had done much for him, and serving was his way of showing his gratitude.[3] He served at Soissons in Picardy, northeast France and at Douaumont, near Verdun.[7] He worked at digging burial pits and trenches.[8] On one occasion he reportedly rescued a German and a French soldier who had been wounded and caught on the front lines.[7]

With the entry of Italy into the First World War in 1915, Ponticelli was told he had to join the Italian Army and was discharged.[2] At first refusing to leave, Ponticelli was escorted by two gendarmes to Torino, where he joined a regiment of Alpini for service against the Austrians.[2] At his new post as a machine gunner, Ponticelli was seriously wounded by a shell during an assault on an Austrian mountain position.[2] He described the event in an undated interview as "blood running through [his] eyes" but he "...continued firing despite [his] wound."[6]

After undergoing surgery, Ponticelli travelled back to his post.[2] In 1918, he was gassed in an Austrian use of a chemical weapon that killed hundreds of his fellow soldiers.[2] Reflecting on war, he said: "You shoot at men who are fathers. War is completely stupid."[1] In one of his last interviews, Ponticelli stated he was amazed at his own survival.[9]

Work with Ponticelli Frères

After being demobilised in 1920, Lazare founded a piping and metal work company with his brothers called "Ponticelli Frères" ("Ponticelli Brothers").[2] Located in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, it became profitable and well-known in its field, and still exists today.[2] At the time of his death it was reported that the company had 4,000 employees.[1]

During the Second World War Ponticelli, who become a French citizen in 1939, was too old for combat and supported the war effort by supplying soldiers his products.[2][3] He moved his factory into an unoccupied zone when Germany invaded and occupied France.[2] After Vichy France was taken over, he returned northwards and began working with the resistance.[2] Ponticelli continued managing the company there until his retirement in 1960.[2]

Later life

Until his death Ponticelli lived with his daughter in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France and frequently attended Armistice Day ceremonies.[2][5] A recipient of several awards, Ponticelli knew it was his age that gave him the medals and kept them in a shoe box.[1] He initially asserted that he did not want a state funeral, but the death of the penultimate soldier, Louis de Cazenave, on January 20, 2008[10] forced him to reconsider.[6] He eventually accepted a small ceremony "in the name of all those who died, men and women"[6], during World War I.[5]

Ponticelli died at 12:45 pm (1145 GMT) at his home in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre on March 12, 2008, aged 110.[8] At the time of his death, Ponticelli was both the oldest man living born in Italy and the oldest man living in France.[11] Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, released a statement and said there would be a day of national remembrance for the war dead of France.[5] Ponticelli was survived by at least a daughter, then-78-year-old Janine Desbaucheron.[1][3]

His state funeral was held on March 17, 2008.[7] The mass was held at Saint-Louis Cathedral and was attended by government ministers, soldiers and members of Ponticelli's family.[12] French Academic Max Gallo delivered the eulogy.[13] Flags were ordered to be flown at half mast while Sarkozy unveiled a plaque dedicated to the veterans of World War I.[9] The French Foreign Legion, the same regiment that Ponticelli fought in, carried his coffin at the funeral.[12] After the procession he was buried in a family plot in Paris.[12]

Today, I express the nation's deep emotion and infinite sadness. I salute the Italian boy who came to Paris to earn his living and chose to become French, first in August 1914 when he lied about his age to sign up at 16 for the French Foreign Legion to defend his adopted homeland. Then a second time in 1921, when he decided to remain here for good.

— Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France[5]

See also

Bibiliography

  • Ponticelli, Lazare (2005). Ponticelli Frères : les premières années : trois frères, une entreprise. Le Kremlin-Bicêtre. pp. 177 p. with 12 p. of illustrations. ISBN 2-9525364-0-6. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Notes

  • [A] ^ Ponticelli's date of birth is not known with certainty. Officially, it is December 7, 1897, though this is likely a mistake. Most probably, it was recorded as December 27, 1897 in the civil registry and the 2 was erased. Ponticelli's mother remembers giving birth on December 24 and a snowstorm delayed any exit from the house for three days.[14]


References

  1. ^ a b c d e Martin, Douglas (2008-03-13). "Lazare Ponticelli, France's Last Veteran of World War I, Is Dead at 110". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Lazare Ponticelli: Veteran who fought for France and Italy in the First World War". The Times. 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Template:Fr Thiolay, Boris (2008-03-12). "Le der des ders". L'Express. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  4. ^ a b Template:Fr Vincenot, Alain (2008-03-13). "Lazare Ponticelli - C'était le dernier poilu". L'Express. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "France's final WWI veteran dies". BBC News. 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
  6. ^ a b c d Kantner, James (2008-03-12). "Lazare Ponticelli, 110, last 'poilu' of World War I trenches". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  7. ^ a b c "Lazare Ponticelli, 110; France's last surviving World War I veteran". Los Angeles Times. 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  8. ^ a b "Last French World War I Veteran Dies at 110". Associated Press. New York Sun. 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
  9. ^ a b Millar, Lisa (2008-03-18). "France honours last WWI veteran". ABC News. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  10. ^ "France's oldest WW1 veteran dies". BBC News. 2008-01-20. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  11. ^ "France's oldest man dies". Reuters. Sydney Morning Herald. 2008-01-21. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
  12. ^ a b c Ganley, Elaine (2008-03-18). "Adieu to an oldest soldier". Associated Press. Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  13. ^ Template:Fr "L'hommage à Ponticelli honore tous les poilus". Le Figaro. 2008-03-16. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
  14. ^ Template:Fr "Un «rital» qui s'est battu dans deux armées". L'Express. 2008-02-05. Retrieved 2008-03-28. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)

External links

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