Pierre Lorillon, a fighter ace from the French Normandie-Niémen group that fought on the Russian front in World War Two, died on February 17th in Bastia (Corsica). With his death, there are now only two surviving pilots of the legendary French fighter unit: Gaël Taburet and Jean Sauvage.
Pierre Lorillon was born on May 13, 1918 in Champigny-sur-Marne, France. He first served in Marocco and was later assigned to the Normandie-Niémen group fighting in Russia. He was credited with 5 aerial victories and 3 shared ones, all acquired on the Russian front.
After the war, he served with distinction in Indochina and Algeria. He was made Grand Croix de la Légion d’Honneur by president Sarkozy in 2008.
More information (in French):
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I am privileged to say my daughter Rachel Davenport conducted this ceremony as ‘Maitre de Ceremonie Pere LaChas cemetery Paris. She was moved by his stories told by his family and I was thrilled to hear about this brave man. Bryan Davenport.