<a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2232617/open_sms">Send us a text</a>What comes to mind when you think of the French Foreign Legion? Most likely men struggling through the desert in heavy blue coats and white peaked caps. Men who joined up after a lifetime of crime, fighting valiantly, then leaving the Legion to become tough, faceless mercenaries trading on their background, or else dying in the mud of Dien Bien Phu as the last choppers leave for La Belle France.The reality is very different.  Why does the romance of the legion still lure young men by their thousands every year? Was there ever a female legionnaire? Join historian Keith Hockton as he answers these questions and finally sets the record straight.

Send us a text What comes to mind when you think of the French Foreign Legion? Most likely men struggling through the desert in heavy blue coats and white peaked caps. Men who joined up after a lifetime of crime, fighting valiantly, then leaving the Legion to become tough, faceless mercenaries trading on their background, or else dying in the mud of Dien Bien Phu as the last choppers leave for La Belle France. The reality is very different. Why does the romance of the legion still lure young men by their thousands every year? Was there ever a female legionnaire? Join historian Keith Hockton as he answers these questions and finally sets the record straight.

<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2232617/open_sms" rel="noopener noreferrer">Send us a text</a>What comes to mind when you think of the French Foreign Legion? Most likely men struggling through the desert in heavy blue coats and white peaked caps. Men who joined up after a lifetime of crime, fighting valiantly, then leaving the Legion to become tough, faceless mercenaries trading on their background, or else dying in the mud of Dien Bien Phu as the last choppers leave for La Belle France.The reality is very different.&nbsp; Why does the romance of the legion still lure young men by their thousands every year? Was there ever a female legionnaire? Join historian Keith Hockton as he answers these questions and finally sets the record straight.

The French Foreign Legion - The Expendables

Keith Hockton, FRAS, is a publisher, podcaster, writer and author based in Penang, Malaysia. He is South East Asian Editor for International Living, a lifestyle based magazine. He lectures internationally on history and Malaysia (political and economic), and is passionate about making history fun and accessible to all.&nbsp; Keith is a Fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. His published books include:• Atlas of Australian Dive Sites - Travellers Edition (Harper Collins Australia, 2003).• Penang - An inside guide to its historic homes, buildings, monuments and parks (MPH Publishing, 2012; 2nd Edition 2014; 3rd Edition 2017).• Festivals of Malaysia (Trafalgar Publishing, 2015).• The Habitat Penang Hill: A pocket history (Entrepot Publishing, 2018)• Alana and the Secret Life of Trees at Night (Entrepot Publishing, 2018)• Penang Then &amp; Now: A Century of Change in Pictures (Entrepot Publishing, 2019; 2nd Edition 2021) • Bersama Lima - Five Together (Entrepot Publishing, 2022)

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Keith Hockton, FRAS, is a publisher, podcaster, writer and author based in Penang, Malaysia. He is South East Asian Editor for International Living, a lifestyle based magazine. He lectures internationally on history and Malaysia (political and economic), and is passionate about making history fun and accessible to all.  Keith is a Fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. His published books include: • Atlas of Australian Dive Sites - Travellers Edition (Harper Collins Australia, 2003). • Penang - An inside guide to its historic homes, buildings, monuments and parks (MPH Publishing, 2012; 2nd Edition 2014; 3rd Edition 2017). • Festivals of Malaysia (Trafalgar Publishing, 2015). • The Habitat Penang Hill: A pocket history (Entrepot Publishing, 2018) • Alana and the Secret Life of Trees at Night (Entrepot Publishing, 2018) • Penang Then & Now: A Century of Change in Pictures (Entrepot Publishing, 2019; 2nd Edition 2021) • Bersama Lima - Five Together (Entrepot Publishing, 2022)

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The French Foreign Legion - The Expendables

The French Foreign Legion - The Expendables

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