THERE ARE times in a book reader's life when he's browsing the shelves of books in a bookshop and pulls out one with an attractive title or cover.
He then proceeds to read the synopsis. The brief description so gripped him that he just has to buy it, and he does. That was what happened to me several weeks ago.
The book is entitled Legionnaire and the writer is an English gentleman named Simon Murray. Back about 40 years ago when Simon was a young, restless lad from one of the districts of England, he felt the need to prove something to himself.
On an irresistible impulse, he literally marched off to the recruitment office and signed up with the French Foreign Legionnaires. To say that he was foolhardy would be quite appropriate. But then, he was just 19 years old at that time. It was hardly an age of wisdom.
Life wasn't that exciting for him at that time, and he was really up to the challenge or so he thought. Before he knew it, he was off and running, again literally.
Soon he found himself in the company of some of the roughest, toughest guys in Europe. A number of them had shady backgrounds but the Legionnaire club didn't care. If you survive their training and obstacle courses, you will be put to good use, all for the greater glory of the French republic.
If you didn't make it, you will end up as another statistic, and nobody will be the wiser because it was presumed that you were "unwanted and uncared for" in your part of the world anyway.
Simon Murray spent five very long years with the Legionnaires. He had an unforgettable taste of Paris, Marseilles, Algiers and the North African desert. The surprise outcome was not he survived his 60-month stint with the hardcore soldiers but he actually made it out alive and in fairly good shape, too.
Numerous candidates who joined at about the same time as him, perished in more dire circumstances with almost nobody to mourn for them. That is the way of the legionnaire. You joined, you trained, you fought and you overcome.
If you didn't, the corps will bury you somewhere convenient. There was no fuss or muss about where you die. You just die but you were collateral damage. And it was war, Legionnaire-style. That means, you come face to face with Death on many occasions until you two become so familiar, you shake hands after numerous encounters.
Simon relates in graphic details all the trauma he and others experienced in the long trek towards "graduation". Along the way, they party hard, sleep wherever they could. Often, they fell asleep in dirty clothes, caked with mud, sweat and tears.
It wasn't a good life. It was actually hell. That was why whenever they had an opportunity to party, they lived it up.
Tomorrow was just another moment for them. Some of them didn't make it to tomorrow. Everyday seemed a long way from tomorrow.
Some of the training methods were brutal. The trainers were merciless. Not all, of course. But those trainers who were lacking in compassion seemed to harbour a sadistic streak to see the recruits suffer for a long time.
Broken limbs were common. Broken heads were part of the training and extreme fatigue was par for the course.
Fortunately, for the rest of the world, Simon Murray kept a diary when he was with the Legionnaires. He recorded every single bit of unhappiness and moment of hilarity and insanity that dropped on his path.
He named every single commanding officer who blocked his way or gleefully turned his life upside down. However, not all was a nightmare. He made some good friends and they kept in touch for life.
Legionnaire is one of the most arresting reads I have ever experienced. Most men my age would be happy potting around in the garden. Our greatest moment of physical excitement would probably be to watching the final of a football game.
For Simon Murray, he went to the ends of the earth to taste life at its most extreme. Shedding blood, his own, was part of the Legionnaire ritual. He learnt French in a hurry. He became proficient in it and also excelled in parachuting.
He earned his stripes and the honours didn't come easy. Simon's superiors recognised the latent talents of the young Englishman. They groomed him to become an officer.
In the end, he was discharged with flying colours. The last few chapters of this book proved to be the most poignant. He related the years after he left the French Foreign Legion. He went from soldier to corporate figure.
He was lucky. In fact, he was more fortunate than so many others who joined the force with him. Decades later, he bumped into some of his old soldier friends and they relived those Legionnaire days.
They cried even as they hugged each other. They remembered fondly the French songs they had sung and re-sang in celebration of the old days in Algiers and elsewhere.
Some of those shoot-and-be-damned moments could not be erased from memory. Simon Murray relishes in all of them. He tells fondly of two good Legionnaire friends who returned from abroad to surprise and to celebrate with him his 50th birthday.
That episode brought tears even to myself. It was one of those male bonding moments that some men know of.
I truly enjoyed walking down the paths which Simon Murray had trodden on. Even though it was only in my mind, the adventures that became part of his life and formed his character, became part of mine as well in other ways.
Simon Murray has no regrets, as he says. He is proud that he seized the moment and along the way, made lifelong friends that added the special flavour to make a life uncompleted so wonderful.
I would certainly recommend any man of any age to read Legionnaire. It is a magnificent testament of one man's daring adventure at an age when all young men are called to the test. Simon Murray took up the gauntlet and survived, and became the better of it.
