Early life and escape from Paris

Robert Jumel was born on April 28, 1920, in Villemomble, a commune in the Seine Saint-Denis department of France. When Germany invaded France in 1940, he was a student studying industrial drawing and left Paris with his mother and sisters for Brittany to escape the advancing German forces.

Inspiration by de Gaulle and enlistment

The June 18, 1940, radio address by General Charles de Gaulle calling for resistance against the German occupation inspired Jumel. He traveled to England on a fishing boat and joined the Free French Forces, enlisting in June 1940 and beginning military training at the Camberley camp in England.

Service in Africa and North Africa

In August 1941, Jumel was promoted to corporal and sent to Equatorial Africa, where he joined the Senegalese Tirailleurs Regiment of Chad (RTST) as part of Leclerc's Column. He served in Chad from 1941 to 1942 and later took part in the second Fezzan campaign in Libya from late 1942 to mid-1943, where he was decorated with the Croix de Guerre.

Continued service and recognition

After the campaign in Fezzan, Jumel was stationed in Tunis and later in Tripolitania, where the 2nd armored division of General Leclerc was formed. He was assigned to the Chad Marching Regiment (RMT) and served in North Africa until 1944, when he was stationed in England in preparation for the invasion of France.

Actions in Normandy and France

During the French campaign from August to November 1944, Jumel played a key role in the Normandy landings. He was cited for destroying an anti-tank weapon that hindered the advance near Mesnil Scelleur on August 13, 1944, and later for leading his group in repelling German attacks during the liberation of Paris and the Vosges region.

Death in combat and honors

Sergeant Chief Robert Jumel was killed in action on November 2, 1944, in Baccarat, Vosges, during a patrol. He was buried in the Bertrichamps cemetery. In 1945, he was posthumously awarded the Legion of Honor and the Companion of Liberation, along with the Croix de Guerre 39/45, for his service and three citations during the war.