It's Hell on Earth
in No-Man's Land
by Barbara Olivier
Rene Georgies Olivier was born on November 11, 1897 in Paris, France
and during medical school he was called to service to
serve his country in 1917. He chose the Airforce and became a pilot.
During a bombing he flew a one-man bomber French made airplane.
His medical training came into good use when his leg was wounded
after being shot down. They said they must take off his leg
and he replied "NO,
I will endure the pain and show you how to save it", which he did and
he never even limped.
After being shot down, in Germany, he burned the remains of plane
and hid. He was found and taken to a German hospital where he
escaped and drag himself thru gutters and sewage ditches with wounded leg.
He lived of off dead soldiers wine and water for days and even changed
clothes with one who lay dead in order to
escape and return to his native land.
He remained in French Hospital for
fourteen months before returning to service to
began instructing flight school.
Rene G. Olivier got into an argument with his General and struct
him and got busted back to a Captain.
We know that he buried his dad in 1926 at a cost of $6,500 in a Catholic
cemetery in Paris. And then landed at Ellis Island in 1930 and became a usa citizen in 1940.
After the war ended, he must have married into Royalty in Paris, France
because when he came to USA in 1930, he was following a lady who had
papers he needed to claim his royal inheritance who we believe was his ex-wife.
We found a letter that asked if he knew where his wife was and about some
property in Paris, France.
When he arrived in usa, he spoke six languages but not a word
in English. It must not have taken him long to learn because he married a
Ky girl in 1931 in Ark. Rene said he had rather be in U.S. with no money
than to be in Paris, France with lots of money. He was an orginial and with
broken English accent.
We
all loved him dearly and these memories will always remain.
The title (and photos) for this article was taken from a newspaper article we discovered about
Rene.
Return to the New Beginnings home page.
Additional Articles:
Chat's Where It's At... For Genealogy
Sharing Stories Can Solve Someone's Mystery
Depression Era: Southern Rural Life
Barbara Olivier started researching her family history over 10 years ago, then moved into the online
world when all that existed were Bulletin Board Systems (BBS).
Now with the Internet,
Barb is a regular chatter, helping others with their research.
Stop in and visit with Barb at her weekly chat every Tuesday at 8:00pm CST
on the #genealogy-help channel at DALnet.
