Henri Ecochard, Free French Piper L-4 “Grasshopper” pilot

The CAF French Wing is proud to present the latest issue of its documentary series, History and Duty of Remembrance.

In this episode, Stéphane Duchemin receives Henri Ecochard, Free French and Piper L-4 pilot.

Henri Ecochard was 16 when war was declared in 1939 and 17 when, a year later, he joined the Free French forces in England. In 1941, he left for Equatorial Africa and joined Syria in June. He took part in the Libyan campaign in 1942 and the Tunisia campaign in 1943. He was trained on the Piper L-4 in 1944 in Algeria and then took part in the Liberation of Europe with the 1st DFL until his demobilization after the victory against Germany in 1945.

In this interview, he looks back on his years of war and was very moved to find his Piper Cub (those of the Association Ham & Jam) during the Paris Villaroche Air Legend.

NB: The video is in French, but you can select automatically translated English subtitles by clicking the settings button on the lower part of the video.

Source: CAF French Wing website

Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/12/05/henri-ecochard-free-french-piper-l-4-grasshopper-pilot/

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