Name/Title
Lieutenant Paul Gatien Laporte - 22 CAR (CGG) and 1st FSSF - KIA September 9th, 1944Description
The Canadian Grenadier Guards had 2 distinguished Officers who were original members of the famed 1st FSSF, Black Devils Brigade. Lt.-Col. Thomas Gilday, DSO, ED was the 3rd Regiment Commanding Officer (and one of the first allied soldiers to enter Rome), and with him under his command, was another CGG Officer - Lt. Paul Gatien Laporte.
On August 14, 1944, the 1st FSSF landed at Îles d'Hyères during Operation Dragoon. On August 22, it was attached to the 1st Airborne Task Force, a provisional Seventh Army airborne division, and on September 7, it moved with the 1st Airborne Task Force to defensive positions on the Franco-Italian border. During the war the 1800-man unit accounted for some 12,000 German casualties, captured some 7,000 prisoners, and sustained an attrition rate of over 600%.
Sadly, Lieutenant Laporte holds the distinction of being the Canadian Grenadier Guard buried the furthest south in Europe having been killed in action during Operation Dragoon (The invasion of Southern France) on September 9th, 1944. He is interred at MAZARGUES WAR CEMETERY in Bouches-du-Rhone, France.Created By
Lieutenant Michael Hayes-Rivet, retired.Create Date
December 26, 2021Updated By
Major Brian Tracey, MMM, CD4, retiredUpdate Date
January 2, 2022