The Foreign Legion

Many years ago I saw the Foreign Legion band at the Royal Tournament. They were preceded by a Canadian regimental band of podgy trombonists and bespecled drummers. Then the Legion appeared with the lights dimmed. Each man was V shaped, shaven headed and wearing their bleached white kepis. They were lead by a phalanx of men wearing leather aprons and carrying axes. They marched to a slow funerary beat, chanting their death dirge. They were terrifying.

This is an article about the modern Legion and its cult of death.

https://aeon.co/essays/why-young-men-queue-up-to-die-in-the-french-foreign-legion?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=00ba1d676c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_04_10&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_411a82e59d-00ba1d676c-68796453