Genevieve De Galard, War Hero Known As 'Angel of Dien Bien Phu', Dies At 99

Genevieve de Galard, a nurse dubbed the "Angel of Dien Bien Phu" for treating wounded during the war in the French colony of Indochina in the 1950s, has died aged 99, with President Emmanuel Macron on Friday hailing her "exemplary devotion".

"The angel of Dien Bien Phu has left us," Macron said on X.

"As a military nurse, Genevieve de Galard showed exemplary devotion to the courage and suffering of 15,000 French soldiers during the worst hours of the Indochina war."

Galard, who passed away on Thursday, volunteered to go to French Indochina in 1953 and helped evacuate casualties.

She was the only French woman on the ground during the 1954 battle of Dien Bien Phu, which led to French troops' defeat in Vietnam and marked the country's last stand in colonial Indochina.

One of the evacuation planes she travelled in was destroyed by gunfire when she was about to leave Dien Bien Phu.

She remained on the ground for two months, "the only nurse in this tropical trap, where 15,000 men were fighting and dying", the president's office said.

When the French-held garrison fell in May 1954, the 12,000 surviving French soldiers were taken prisoner and Galard was repatriated to France against her will.

On her return she was celebrated as a star and French magazine Paris Match featured the 29-year-old on its cover.

In July 1954, US President Dwight Eisenhower invited her to the United States where she received a standing ovation from the House of Representatives.

"I had never wanted or sought it," she said of her fame. "I had only done my duty."

Throughout her life, de Galard continued to care for the disabled, in particular at the Invalides rehabilitation centre, Macron's office said.

In 2014, Galard received France's highest honour, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour.

Dien Bien Phu in northern Vietnam was the site of an epic battle against Vietnamese communist forces in 1954 that spelled the end of France's colonial empire in Indochina.

This year, France has for the first time been invited by Vietnam to commemorate the battle.

Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu represented Paris at commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu in May.

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