French soldiers

André Louis Arthur Zirnheld (March 7, 1913 – July 27, 1942) was a French paratrooper, a member of the Free French Air Force, and a member of the French Squadron, Special Air Service during World War II. He is famous for being the first French paratrooper officer killed in action, and is presumed to be the author of the poem "The Paratrooper's Prayer".

Jean Lartéguy (5 September 1920 in Maisons-Alfort – 23 February 2011) was the pen name of Jean Pierre Lucien Osty, a French writer, journalist, and former soldier.Larteguy is credited with first envisioning the "ticking time bomb" scenario of torture in his 1960 novel Les centurions.