Bayonne: When a soldier of the 1st RPIMA heals his war wounds with paint

Written by: Iban Carpentier

Wounded in Afghanistan in 2006, Cédric Hémon, a former paratrooper with the 1st RPIMa in Bayonne, is returning to life through painting. On Saturday, June 7, he presented his regiment with a portrait of Emile Bouétard, the first Free French paratrooper to fall during the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944.

" I wanted to give it a look that would follow you, like the Mona Lisa." Despite the bold comparison, it is with great humility and emotion that Cédric Hémon reveals his work to his former comrades and superiors of the 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (1er RPIMa) in Bayonne this Saturday, June 7, 2025: the portrait of Émile Bouétard , a paratrooper corporal in the French SAS of the Free French Forces, who died in action during the night of June 5-6, 1944 at Plumelec, as the American army was preparing to land on the beaches of Normandy. He was the first French soldier to die during the D-Day landings. He was 28 years old.

"We do not forget those who fought"

It is as a direct heir to the Free French SAS that this painting is offered to the 1st RPIMa, but not only that. Because Cédric Hémon himself lived within the walls of the Bayonne Citadel: " This portrait has a double meaning: it is also the heir to the 1st RPIMa, of which I was a member for many years, and it also bears witness to a transgenerational memory and state of mind, where the dead are not forgotten. Those who fought and who today occupy their place in the Bergé Citadel are not forgotten."

Before becoming an artist and art therapist , Cédric Hémon fought in the Special Forces. But in 2006, in Afghanistan, he was wounded during an operation, and two of his comrades died: he would develop post-traumatic stress disorder in the following years. Painting became his best remedy. Through his art, he addresses the fallen, but also those yet to fall: "This painting is in the living room of Corporal Duval (Chief Corporal Stéphane Duval, soldier of the 1st RPIMa, killed in Mali in 2013, editor's note). He was a comrade with whom I learned my trade. I myself was wounded in the war. You have to know that the regiment is an extremely vulnerable regiment, with many wounded. We stay together even after leaving the regiment; we are never far away, we are connected in some way. This painting is a testament to that."

Expressing a brotherhood of arms

This sense of brotherhood and support is essential to the recovery of men like Cédric, traumatized by war. A principle that the 1st RPIMa has understood well. The Faire Face et Résilience and Qui Ose Gagné associations support the wounded, while maintaining the link with the army. General Arnaud Dupuy de la Grand'Rives, army casualty officer, acknowledges that the 1st RPIMa is a regiment that " works well on this theme of brotherhood in arms. There is a real involvement of direct command, of the entire vertical line of command, which is particularly sensitive to these issues. I consider this regiment exemplary in maintaining the link during the moments of doubt and anger that each wounded person may experience. Even in a moment of anger, even if they feel the slowness of procedures, sometimes even the betrayal of the administrative system, the day will come when the wounded, at their own pace, will return home anyway . "