Fighting in the Skies of the USSR for the Liberation of France

Soviet and French pilots at the Kursk Bulge. where nazi troops suffered a crushing defeat.

From the Soviet Press 1984:

The Normandie-Niemen, a French fighter regiment, served on the Soviet-German front during the Great Patriotic War. The Soviet people cherish the memory of this legendary squadron. Museums devoted to it have been set up in 142 schools, and school pupils have gathered many documents and letters written by the squadron members. One such museum was opened some time ago in the village of Pokrovskoye in the Ukraine. Letters written from the front by Vladimir Belozub, a native of the village, and his French friend Maurice de Seynes, make a lasting impression on visitors. These two men fought together in the same squadron and died together in the same battle. Their letters were addressed to their relatives. Vladimir Belozub wrote to Pokrovskoye. and Maurice de Seynes, to Paris. Here are some of them.

 Flight control post of the Normandie Niemen air regiment.

 Pokrovskoye, Yelena and Leonty Belozub:

Dearest Mum and Dad. Got a letter from you at long last. Thanks a million. I'm alive and well. Hope you are too. I'm killing as many Nazis as I can. The Command has recommended me for decoration with the Order of the Red Star. And you’ll be pleased to hear that I’ve been accepted into the Communist Party. So, dad. you and I are both Party members. You’re probably working around the clock to keep the farm going. How's the harvest this year? And how are my apple trees doing, mum? They haven't died off, have they? How's Pasha doing in the army?

Vladimir

Paris. Therese de Seynes,

Dearest Mama, my most precious treasure. My fine Claude, I've received all the letters you sent me via the Red Cross and our consulate in Moscow. They're just the ticket here. Generally, things are fine. In Russia. I feel as if the Champs Elysees were just a stone’s throw away.

Maurice

Dear Mum,

I've got good news for you. You've got three sons now instead of two. I've already told you that I’m serving in the Normandie Niemen regiment. Almost all the pilots in it are French. They're very brave lads, good sports. Fritz is dead scared of their gun-fire. My commander, Maurice de Seynes, is perhaps one of the bravest of their lot. He’s just remarkable. He and I are the best of mates, just like brothers. So, mum, you can expect to see three of us home before long–Me, Maurice and Pavel.

Volodya

I’ve got a Russian friend, mama. His name is Belozub which means White Tooth. He gets my plane ready for sorties and always awaits my return He's just like a brother to me.

You've got two sons now, mama. I’ll bring him to Paris after Victory. I call him a “philosopher” for his sharp wit and folk wisdom. This unaffected lad, the son of a farmer. knows an awful lot, You’d think he'd been to the Sorbonne. That's how they’re brought up in Russia I’ve learned a lot here, mama, and my attitudes towards quite a lot of things have changed. But I’ll tell you more about that when I see you.

We’re heading westwards. I'm getting nearer and nearer to you. The distance between us is shrinking. The Russians have decorated me with an Order.

Maurice

 But Maurice was not to return home to Paris. Nor Vladimir Belozub to his parents in the village of Pokrovskoye.

In his book Tale of Fighter Pilots, Georgy Zakharov, Commander of the 303d Fighter Division, of which the Normandie-Niemen was a part, wrote: '’Fifteen minutes went by and the Yak piloted by de Seynes appeared over the landing strip once again. "Hello, de Seynes, do you hear me? What’s up, Maurice? De Seynes. do you copy, do you copy? What's wrong?"...

“Anxious Russian and French words flitted over the air waves. De Seynes could hear ground control. He answered it. But he couldn’t see a thing for his face and hands were burnt. The plane swept over the heads of those gathered on the air field who were trying to guide him in. When it became obvious that the plane could not land, de Seynes was ordered to gain height and bale out.

"The order was repeated in French and Russian. He was ordered to jump. The men on the ground tried to persuade him to bale out. He had a parachute like any other fighter pilot.

"This was the only order that de  Seynes ever refused to obey. His friend, flight mechanic. Vladimir Belozub, was trapped in the cockpit. No one could make Maurice de Seynes save himself. Nothing could make him leave his friend to die a solitary death.

'’All those on the ground saw them die. Their plane blew up in mid-air."

Their comrades-in-arms saw them to their final resting place. The French pilots carried Volodya, his body covered with the French tricolour. The Russians carried Maurice, draping the Red flag of the Soviet Union over his body. The two friends perished on July 14, 1944. a French national holiday.

1982. Zvezdny Gorodok (Moscow region). Veterans of the Normandie Niemen air regiment with Soviet and French Cosmonauts at the monument to Yuri Gagarin, the world's first cosmonaut.

''I had only one son. He could have saved his own life. He could have... But this would have been a blot on our family escutcheon. My son did it right", said the mother of Maurice de Seynes.

Her letter is on display in the museum in Pokrovskoye:

Pokrovskoye village. USSR:

Dear friends, From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for the letter you wrote to the memory of my son Maurice and his friend Vladimir Belozub. I've enclosed two photos of Maurice. I hope they’ll convey to you all my anguished thoughts and my bitter regrets at being too old to undertake the trip to Russia. I'm 83. I would love to meet the family of Vladimir Belozub. My son was very fond of him . What you told me about Volodya and about the memory you have of Maurice warmed my heart. I think that a friendship like theirs has, and will do more for the cause of peace than any amount of talking about it.

My warmest greetings. I wish you much happiness.

Therese de Seynes, Paris