'God help anyone who weakened': my life with the French Foreign Legion

Day 491, 00:42 • Published in USA Thailand • by Tomma van den Bosch

Above: French Foreign Legion Snipers

First in a Series: New perspectives on mainland Southeast Asia

'You are legionnaires in order to die - and I am sending you where you can die." So said General François de Negrier during what might be termed a motivational address to a combat-bound troop of the French Foreign Legion in December 1883. Now that the Légion Étrangère is largely integrated with the French army, such an address would not be tolerated.

But this week's reports of e😜atriots from around the globe gathering with advisors from the Legion in Thailand as they volunteer for training without the bullying and abuse of the past should not be read as a departure from the old philosophy and tradition. So reports our correspondent Tomma van den Bosch who is now embedded with the Burma National Liberation Front in Thailand. Forging units of rigidly disciplined soldiers programmed to obey orders even when the odds are insurmountable is a challenging task, reports van den Bosch. Inflicting discomfort on those who do not measure up has always been an effective way to "encourager les autres". I remember this well from my own basic training with the legion in the winter of 1981 and more recently with the National Guard of the USA.

It was fate that drove van den Bosch away from his comfortable home in Arizona where he presided over Manifest Destiny Iron Mine and its organizational transnational offshoot - Xanadu Titan. At least that’s the way he puts it. Called to fight in America's war in Mexico, van den Bosch left the mine inherited by his father and purchased three weapons – “all I could afford” - with his funds invested in mining iron and building weapons for his country.

And so in a fever of patriotism, he departed with the other guardsmen to the desolate northeast of Mexican USA. “The next thing I knew,” van den Bosch states, “I was stranded in Portuguese-held Mexico - unable to return home. And I was stunned. You know, I was always aught "leave no man behind," explains van den Bosch. But I can tell you, there were a few men left behind, and I was one of them."

Desperate and without food, van den Bosch stole his way to a freighter headed for the Netherlands. "I thought I could find my way back to the States from there," he said. "But I was wrong. Travel was not permitted from Holland to the USA and by then, I was so weak from hunger. I accepted a job and communicated with my National Guard commanders. They sent me food and a moving ticket. But I was not able to travel to the States from that country. Apparently, the Netherlands was allied with Mexico."

So van den Bosch accepted a job with a new venture that then being initiated by his conglomerate in Brazil – the iron mine known as the Rio Corumba Mine. "I worked hard there to build the mine and attract employees, but I was still unable to return to the States."

"It was then that I heard of the National Liberation Army and the global call for volunteers to travel to Thailand. The Thai President “Blindness” himself urged me to travel there and he sent me a ticket. I left Brazil immediately. And when I arrived in Thailand, I discovered that workers are so needed here - the wages are quite high. And I am building up my strength - restoring my health."

And so this man who claims to be a former member of both the French Foreign Legion and the American National Guard has volunteered to train in Thailand for a possible fight in Burma with the National Liberation Army.

Of course, this report isn’t actually as bizarre as it might initially seem.

Tomma would not be the first foreign fighter to actively support the National Liberation Front along the Thai-Burma border. Stories of the French Foreign Legion are peppered with these sorts of characters.

For anybody with a deeper interest, other accounts of the border - from sources such as the National Police Report - reveal a growing role of “mercenaries” in Burma’s festering conflicts. Interestingly, we have never seen an article written by a foreign fighter. Of course, we may be missing something.

If any Thai or American readers have suggestions, or more information on this topic, please feel free to share your references and wisdom.

For now, we can report that Thailand and the National Liberation Army will accept individuals from any country.

Tags: Burma, French Foreign Legion, Hero with a Thousand Faces, National Guard, American Abroad, Rambo-Wanna-Be