At 89, N’Dongo Dieng recalls his enlistment in France’s colonial army with vivid clarity. “It was the 1954 wintering season,” he reflects, reminiscing about his time as a typist in Kaolack, Senegal. The memory of a patriotic song on July 14 sparked a conversation with his father, leading Dieng to join the military shortly thereafter.
Dieng’s family has a storied military tradition. His grandfather fought as a tirailleur in World War I but never returned. His father participated in the Provence landings in August 1944. Dieng himself served as a tirailleur, and four of his sons have continued the tradition, serving in the Senegalese army or gendarmerie.
On August 15, Dieng will join commemorations in Toulon, France, marking the 80th anniversary of the Provence landings, an event his father was part of. He will be accompanied by fellow veterans and representatives from the Association for the Memory and History of Senegalese Tirailleurs (AMHTS), including Aïssata Seck, who chairs the association.
The ceremony will be attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and Senegal’s Minister of the Armed Forces, Birame Diop. Dieng and his fellow veterans, including Yoro Diao, Ousmane Sagna, and Ousmane Badji, who all fought under the French flag, will honor their shared legacy of service and sacrifice.
