DBP04-2: FDC France INDOCHINA War, DIÊN BIÊN PHU Fighters 1954-2004 Pau Airborne

Tribute to the French fighters who died in Diên Bien Phu (1954-2004)

Paris, May 7, 2004: On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of this French defeat against the troops of General Giap, President Jacques Chirac paid tribute to the soldiers of Diên Bien Phu who, through their sacrifice, “transmuted a disaster into a epic".

“In the many pages of glory and heartbreak that make up our history, Diên Bien Phu occupies a special place. Very quickly, the fierce resistance of this entrenched camp rose to the rank of a legend, to the rank of a myth. Today, the name of Dien Bien Phu has become the very symbol of military honor defended to the extreme limits of human strength,” declared the Head of State.

In Diên Bien Phu, in the northwest of Vietnam, tribute was paid to French soldiers. The charge d'affaires of the French embassy in Hanoi, Eric Berti, laid a wreath in front of the French war memorial, in the presence of the defense attaché, Lieutenant-Colonel Yves Santier, and some veterans. “The friendship between Vietnam and France is very strong. These ceremonies, far from harming them, will deepen them,” declared Eric Berti during his speech. “This battle is above all a battle for independence and against colonization. Times have changed,” he added.

To mark this fiftieth anniversary, the French Post Office issued a very beautiful stamp on May 7, 2004 designed and designed by Jean-Paul Véret-Lemarinier.

A collection composed of 2 FDC illustrated envelopes and a FRANCE-VIETNAM Registered philatelic correspondence, in limited and numbered prints, was specially produced by Editions Historiaphil©.