Louis Perrone lived all his life in the village of Pontevès. As a boy, he walked or cycled the 5 km from la Valette to school. At the age of 14 he started work at the local domaine, Saint Ferréol. But the war was to interrupt his early years.
Louis Perrone 1921 – 2020
Louis Perrone was fated to die on the very day that his village of Pontevès celebrated the 76th anniversary of its liberation from the Nazi occupation. That morning August 18th 1944, the village woke to the sound of fighting between German forces and the advancing American army. On the same day in 2020, a series of celebrations marking the day were organised – American GIs in American jeeps, speeches by the mayor and survivors of the German occupation, and even a flyby over the village square by members of a local flying club.
As a young man, Louis was a witness to the liberation in 1944. In this film documenting his life, he gives us an insight into the personal life of someone growing up in Pontevès before and during the second world war. Louis was a friend of the local résistant André Salvetti, known as Tacade, and joined in the actions during the liberation of Cotignac.
Our film was programmed to be screened in the local village hall during the liberation anniversary celebrations on August 18th 2020. But Louis himself couldn’t make it. He died peacefully that morning at 7am.
LOUIS PERRONE
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