“Let us get something to drink in the Continental Shelf where we can speak in private, my friends,” Jean-Yves said, and led them into the designated first floor—but technically located on the second floor of the hotel—bar which was given its nickname by war correspondents who joked that they were safe from grenades up the stairs and in the bar.
Jean-Yves settled into his place in the booth he had reserved the prevous day and invited his guests to do the same. They all ordered drinks and–after the obsequious waiter thanked Jean Yves effusively and left–they got down to business.
“All of that bowing and scraping could get on one’s nerves,” said Antoine. “And I understand that the Vietnamese people don’t believe in tipping.”
“Maybe someplace,” said Jean Yves and laughed, “but not in the Continental.”
“Tell me, please, Jean-Yves, what our agenda will be.”
They were all speaking French because their booth was situated next to one occupied by a loud and obviously intoxicated group of American Marine officers.
“We will whisk you out to my plantation where you will stay in one of my guesthouses for as long as you desire or need to. I have trusted friends from the Legion who will arrive at my home day after tomorrow, and we will be able to have a useful conversation with them that evening. You realize that they will be most careful around the Vietnamese because they are … shall we say … persona non grata in the country for the time being. They will be posing as German businessmen. It will be best for you to speak German with them.”
“Thank you, Jean-Yves. We are in your debt and will compensate you accordingly.”
Jean-Yves nodded dismissively, a hypocritical gesture, Antoine knew, because he had already paid the man several thousand American dollars through his bank in Algiers.
Late the following evening, a light tap on the Gebirgsjägers’ cottage door signaled the arrival of the Legionnaires. Serge went out the back door and circled surreptitiously around to where he had a good line of sight on the visitors. Antoine and Hugues held their Lugers at their right sides with the hand and gun held out of sight while Antoine opened the door.
A smiling Jean-Yves greeted him, “Mon ami, Pierre,” he said, taking care to use Antoine’s current pseudonym for the time being, “these are my friends from Algiers. I am hoping they will be yours as well. May we come in?”
Antoine took two quick looks outside, then invited the three men into the cosy Indochinese decorated room. All of the visitors entered with bare hands extended, and did 360 degree turns to demonstrate that they were not armed. Antoine nodded at Hugues; and the two of them did the same thing, except that they placed their handguns on the entryway table. The five men nodded at each other in acceptance, and Pierre made introductions.
“This is Col. Didier Amirault and Lt. Col. Édouard Melerine of the Legion in Algeria. May I present Pierre Deneuve, Frédéric Charron, and….”
On cue, Serge entered the room through the front door and said, “Georges Thibault.”
The two Legionnaires nodded crisply, and the three Gebirgsjägers returned the gesture. Antoine waved the three newcomers into the room and pointed out chairs for them.
When they were all seated, Col. Amirault took command of the conversation, “We cannot be in Vietnam for long for obvious reasons. We came at the request of Col. Danvier, whom you know as Jean-Yves Sarrazin. My fellow Legionnaire officer and I will not be coy. We have complete dossiers on all of you courtesy of a mutual friend, Anton Friedrich Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach.”
Upon hearing the name of the secretive head of the ODESSA, the eyebrows and the antennae of all three Gebirgsjägers sprang to attention.
“You need not be alarmed, mes amis. Our war is over. We share a common enemy in the communists, and Anton has all of our best interests in mind. He remains secretive about himself and about you three and about our visit here. You are in need of anonymity and a purpose in life, and we are in need of seasoned officers for our struggles in Algeria and elsewhere. Anton assured us that you would fit in well with the Legion.”
“It would be good to serve France again. What would our positions be, mon Colonel?”
“We are aware that you were a gruppenführer und generalleutnant der Waffen-SS,” he said, nodding at Antoine. “And you were, I believe, a sturmbannführer,” he said to Hugues, “and you were an obersturmbannführer,” he nodded to Serge.
Serge acknowleged Col. Amirault’s accuracy.
“At present, we have no positions on the general staff; and frankly, none of us will ever achieve that rank. There is too much favoritism towards the old guard for that to happen. We do need officers, and I want each of you to have a colonelcy. I recognize that we are asking a distinguished Général de Division to step down to the same rank as me. Would that be acceptable?”
The rank of colonel would indeed be a significant drop-down for Antoine; but to be a senior French officer, anonymous to the rest of the world and safe from it, and able to return to his first love—a military career—trumped all other considerations. He did not hesitate and answered for all three Gebirgsjägers.
“When do we start and where, mon Colonel?”
“First, let me make one thing entirely clear, gentlemen,” Col. Amirault said in all seriousness. “The Legion as it stands today is 100 percent loyal to Gen. de Gaulle. No French officer who sided with the Algerian insurgency or separatist movement may have rank above major in the Legion. You have been vetted, and your complete separation from such groups is a given because of your SS background. And—I might add—your presumed involvement in the assassination of Général de division Étienne Malboeuf—a former bitter enemy of de Gaulle—was quietly received with good marks. Never forget that you enter the service on de Gaulle and his loyalists’ side. We, of course, pray that no Legionnaire will ever have to bear arms against another Frenchman during his entire career. You will be required to sign the oath.”
“We will be happy to do it now,” Antoine said definitively.
“We have the papers.”
Lt. Col. Melerine opened a thin brief case and produced three parchment sheets which the three Gebirgsjägers signed with alacrity.
“This second set of documents are your official enlistment papers. Congratulations on your becoming French Foreign Legionnaires.”
The Gebirgsjägers signed the five-year service contracts as well. They signed with the pseudonyms they were using in Viet Nam which was perfectly acceptable to the Legion. The Legion gives or allows all recruits a new name and strictly guards their anonymity.
“Now, in answer to when and where, let me tell you that you can travel to Algiers beginning tomorrow. It will take a couple of days given the continuing poor relations between the governments of Vietnam and Algeria. The final where is Sidi-bel-Abbès, Algeria, another day’s flight.”
Vietnamese Recipes
Banh mi
There are many different varieties of banh mi, only limited by the cook’s imagination. The following is the basic sandwich.
Ingredients
-crusty baguette, sliced pork and other lunch meats, shredded cured pork skin, various kinds of pâté, Miracle Whip, Jack Daniels mustard, or mayo., Vietnamese radish, carrot pickles, lettuce, sliced cucumbers, sprigs of cilantro, fresh pounded chilies, sliced cheeses, preferably strong tasting ones. Banh mi calls out for variation: sausage, shredded meats, bok choy, meat loaf, white and dark meat of chicken, sliced beef pot roast, or steak.
Preparation
-Buy the baguette freshly made from the vendor so it is crusty on the outside and soft and white inside. Slice it lengthwise with a sharp serrated knife or even good kitchen shears, taking care to avoid crushing the bread at the point of cutting. Layer the slabs of bread with the choices of the moment, lean over the sink or the ground or a plate because it’s messy. It is also filling. Vietnamese often eat only two meals a day, with Banh mi being one of those.
Bún mắm (bun mam)
Ingredients
&nb
sp; -sufficient homemade rice noodles [vermicelli preferred], nouc mam [fermented fish sauce], tamarind juice, sugar, variety of meats [such as squid, prawns, pork, beef (bo), and chicken (ga)], sliced eggplant, bok choy, boiling water.
Preparation
-Bring a soup pot ¾ full of water to a rolling boil. Add nouc mam, tamarind juice, sugar to taste.
-Pile noodles on the bottom, then the entire assortment of meats on top of them, then the sliced egg plant (which soaks up the broth. Serve very hot. May have hot sauce, salt, and pepper to taste.
Phở (pho)
Ingredients
-noodles, choices of meat (as with Bún mắm), chopped green onions, sweet onions, ±bok choy, assorted herbs (such as mint, sawtooth, cilantro) to taste, homemade chili sauce.
Preparation
-flash-boil noodles until soft, top with meat choices, sprinkle chopped green and sweet onions.
-serve hot with buttered baguette and 333 beer (which can be added to the broth for a little extra flavor kick if desired).
Nước chấm (nouc mam)
Ingredients
-½ cp fish sauce, ⅓ cp fresh lime juice, ¼ cp sugar, 1 minced clove garlic, 1 tsp sambal olek, ½ cp water. Chili, salt, pepper, sugar, ±333, to taste.
Preparation
-fish sauce:
The process of making the favored fish sauce of Viet Nam is one that Americans are better off not knowing about if they are to enjoy the pungent final product. First, a layer of ungutted raw fish is spread over an open area. Salt is then liberally applied to the layer of fish. Additional layers of fish and salt, about ten to fifteen in all, are heaped on and allowed to putrefy for three or four weeks in the broiling sun until an oily black liquid runs off the sides. That piquant effluent is collected in bowls and served over rice, often with pieces of fish or vegetables added. It was irreverently called “armpit sauce” by American GIs with uneducated palates.
-add fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic, sambal olek, water, chili, salt, pepper, and sugar. Mix thoroughly and allow to chill in fridge for 1–2 days. Nước chấm is found on virtually every table at every meal, and every day in both North and South Viet Nam. This ubiquitous amalgam sauce is at once salty, tangy, spicy, fishy, and sweet. It is perfect for dunking, dipping, adding to, or pouring over foods. Some people like to drink it straight.
Elephant Ear Fish
Ingredients
-2 kg Osphronemus Exodon or Elephant ear fish—preferred—(may substitute tilapia or other flaky white fish), 2 tbsps olive oil, 1 lime, juiced, ¾ tsp sea salt and 1 tbsp sea salt, ¼ tsp black pepper. 1 pkg of rice vermicelli noodles~250 g., 1 cp mint, 1 cp Thai basil, 1 cp cilantro, 16+ rice paper wrappers.
Preparation
-Gut fish, but leave whole. Combine fish, olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Marinate 10 min.
Preheat oven to 350° F. Heat grill pan over high heat and sear fish for 30 secs. on each side. Place in oven and bake 10 mins. until cooked through. Cool.
-In a soup pot, boil 1 l. water with 1 tbsp sea salt. Add rice noodles, stirring to separate. Cook 3–5 mins. until soft. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Set aside.
-Carefully place whole fish into boiling oil and cook until it is rigid and can be manipulated without breaking. When dry and cool enough to handle, pick up with chopsticks and stand vertically in a narrow pot and support it with bamboo sticks on both sides at intervals to keep it erect.
-Slice herbs into thin strips and mix together. Place 2 rice paper sheets in soup pot and cover with 6 in. lukewarm water to soften~20 secs. When soft and pliable, remove one carefully and place on a paper towel in front of you. Place 1 tbsp of the herbs in the center of the circle ⅓ of the way from the bottom in a rectangular shape 6 in. x 2 in. high. Break off pieces of whole fish (consistency of thick potato chips) and place on top of rice paper sheet. Place 2 tbsps vermicelli noodles on top of that. Roll the bottom of the rice paper up and over the filling, tucking the ends in to close (like rolling a cigar). Fold both right and left flaps into the center, creating blunt ends of a roll. Be careful not to roll too tightly or the rice paper will rip. Roll the filling gently towards the top of the circle, taking care to tuck the filling in to make a snug package.
-Repeat with next sheet of rice paper and add 2 more to the soup pot to soften. Serve with a bowl of nuoc mam for dipping.
Vietnamese sea urchin
Ingredients
-1 sea urchin for each guest. Mustard, lemon juice, soy sauce, chilis, hard roasted peanuts, boiled broccoli, sea salt and pepper, herbs of choice.
Preparation
-Crack open and clean sea urchins so that the opening allows urchin to serve as the bowl. Add lemon juice, mustard, soy sauce, and mix thoroughly, gathering up urchin meat into mix. Add chilies, peanuts, and broccoli.
-Eat fresh (no cooking required): this gives the spiciness of the mustard, the texture of the broccoli, the sweet fat of the sea urchins, the aromatic flavor of the peanuts, and the added flavor of the salt, pepper, and herbs. It is useful to wash down with plenty of 333.
Bạch Tuộc Hấp Hành—Steamed Baby Octopus with Ginger and Onion
Ingredients
-300 g octopus, 1 small branch of ginger, 2 cloves of spring onion, sea salt, nouc mam, garlic, chili, sugar
Preparation
-Pull out octopus organs. Put head and tentacles on basket, add 1 tsp salt. Scrape firmly to reduce grease, wash then wash again.
-Peel off cover of the ginger, slice into long and thin pieces. Use the white part of spring onion, slice into long pieces.
-Add sliced ginger and spring onion on top of octopus bowl, bring to steam until they are cooked~5–10 mins.
-Pour nouc mam over mixture in salad bowl and enjoy. 333 is a good beverage with this salad.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
EMT [État-major tactique, Tactical Command Post], La Légion Étrangère, Sidi-bel-Abbès, Algeria, December 29, 1964
The day was one more oppressively hot test of human endurance in a long string of such days. The Gebirgsjägers celebrated their first year as Legionnaires this month and wondered privately among themselves if they could tolerate even one more year, let alone the entire five-year tour for which they had contracted. They all knew they were safe out in the middle of the drabness of the Algerian desert. No one in his right mind would ever bother to look for them in this godforsaken hot hell. There was nothing to do but play cards, intervene in fights among the eighty-six nationals represented in the Legion just in this small outpost, or seek out a Bedouin woman—almost unthinkable for the arrogant Aryan Gebirgsjägers. The place was once the headquarters city of the French Foreign Legion, but that all changed two years previously when the Algerian War of Independence officially ended, and Algeria’s sovereignty was certified. The French and their sympathizers were evacuated, and the Legion moved its headquarters and museum to Aubagne in southern France. Only two sites were maintained: the naval base at Mers El Kébir and the small desert EMT post in Sidi-bel-Abbès. All that was left in Sidi Bel Abbès were the training center of the Algerian National Gendarmerie and the EMT—Tactical Command Post—of La Légion Étrangère. Most of the Legionnaires proper were part of the 1st Foreign Regiment—the so-called “Perle de oust.”
The tenue de jour [uniform of the day] was the usual because of the almost perpetual heat—blue tunic, white linen trousers tucked into short leather leggings substituting for regular day red serge because of the hot weather, white kepi, and epaulettes. Even though it was a parade day, the red sash could not be worn to offset the monotony of the uniform. The Gebirgsjägers and the other Legionnaire officers were wearing the same dark blue-black tunics as their fellow officers in the French line regiments, except that black replaced red as a facing color on collar and cuffs. This was a full-dress day; so, all the officers were wearing gold-fringed epaulettes; and rank was shown by the five gold ring stripes on both kepi and cuffs.
The occasion for this full-dress parade was to impr
ess the Israeli Mahal [acronym for Mitnadvei Ḥutz LaAretz, Volunteers from outside the Land]. The Mahal was a unit the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] patterned after the French Foreign Legion. It maintained close ties with the Legion and the armed forces of France. The Mahal—like the Legion—was originally a unit of non-Israelis [the Mahalniks] serving in the Israeli military. The term originated with approximately 4,000 Jewish and non-Jewish volunteers who went to Israel to fight in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, including the Aliyah Bet [illegal Jewish immigrants during the British Mandate]. Most of the original Mahalniks were World War II veterans from American and British armed forces. To the present day, the Israeli Defense Ministry allows the enlistment of non-Israeli citizens to join Israel’s armed forces if they have at least one grandparent of Jewish descent.
No unit in the world can hold a better or more disciplined parade than the Legion. All ranks were represented, and the colors shown brilliantly in the Algerian sun on the nearly white sand of the parade ground. The tricolor waved from each of the four corners; and the marching men were a symphony of black, white, red, gold, khaki, and for some, green (berets). The starch-white kepis reflected the noonday sun, and the marchers’ heads held a disciplined nearly perfect unision. The Legion’s flag with its Honneur et Fidélité [Honour and Fidelity] lettering led the ranks. To its right, the First Regiment’s regimental flag fluttered showing its motto—Ad unum [To the end]. A distinct difference maintained between the Legion and all other French military unit is its motto. The other units fly a banner reading: Honneur et Patrie [Honour and Fatherland]. Behind the flags two men—one huge and black, the other small and fair—carried the banner bearing the motto of the Legion: Legio Patria Nostra [The Legion is our Fatherland].
The Charlemagne Murders Page 60