Cajun Soldiers

Historian Jason Theriot has been in a race against time to locate and interview Cajun soldiers who served in World War Two.  He’s dug through museum archives, family letters, and interviewed families and some of the surviving French-speaking Louisiana soldiers.

few cajun soldiers left

“25 years ago when I first started doing this project,” Theriot explained, “there were thousands of veterans around Acadiana and my hometown of New Iberia. Fast forward, here we are 25 years later. There’s only three French-speaking Cajuns of World War Two still around” he noted.

stories of louisiana’s cajun soldiers

The personal stories of those Cajun soldiers are preserved in Theriot’s new book called Frenchie:  The Story of French-Speaking Cajuns of World War II. These young men grew up in French-speaking families but were not allowed to speak French in school. One of those surviving “Frenchies” is Norris Morvant of Thibodaux,  Now 100 years old, Morvant recalls, “They would punish you.  And it was terrible to say that you knew a language that you wanted to use, but you couldn’t”.

Morvant was drafted into the army and sent to France shortly after D-Day.  He worked for General Dwight Eisenhower’s headquarters and drove a jeep across the countryside, delivering orders to commanders in the field.  Morvant chuckled when he told me about the reaction of French villagers when he spoke to them.  “Their mouth would open, and they’d say, ah, he’s talking French”, he recalled.  “People were astonished that I could speak French and we could communicate really well.” 

Interview with a frenchie

Morvant was among dozens of history buffs and relatives of Cajun soldiers who attended a book release event at the Regional Military Museum in Houma. Chuck Chaisson is the grandson of French-speaking soldier Charles Leblanc.  He told the story of how his grandfather helped save the crew of a French bomber when its landing gear malfunctioned.  Leblanc was summoned by air traffic control to translate landing instructions to the French-speaking crew.  “He said it was the best translation of French he had ever done,” Chaisson said.  “And it was something he was always super proud of.”

story of cajun soldiers featured on tv

After collecting hundreds of family stories and interviews, Theriot, in his book, tells an important part of the Cajun story.  “They realized for the first time that their language was a tremendous benefit”, Theriot explained.  He added, “It created a resurgence of pride in their heritage, unlike the culture had ever experienced before”.  It was a moment when Louisiana’s Cajun language and heritage suddenly became a vital part of the American war effort in Europe.