and 93 wounded; Kieffer himself was almost immediately wounded twice, hit by shrapnel in the leg, but refused evacuation for two days. Kieffer rejoined his unit on 14 June, in time to take part in the breakthrough towards the Seine and Honfleur. Along with two of his men, he was among the first members of the Free French Forces to enter Paris. His 18-year-old son, who had recently joined the Maquis, was killed by German troops near Paris at nearly the same time. End of the War and later life By October 1944, the Commando Battalion had three companies. Kieffer led it during the attacks on Vlissingen and Walcheren to capture the port of Antwerp. He later took part in raids against occupied Dutch islands. In 1945, he was nominated for the Consultative Assembly, and started working in the Inter-Allied Forces Headquarters. He was promoted to capitaine de frégate (OF-4) in 1954. Kieffer died in Cormeilles-en-Parisis, France on 20 November 1962 after a long illness, and was buried in Grandcamp, Calvados. Awards and honours French awards Commander of the Legion of Honour Compagnon of the Order of Liberation (Award #828) by decree of 28 August 1944 * War Cross 1939–1945 with 7 citations (6 palms ? 1 bronze star) Volunteer combatant's cross Commemorative medal for voluntary service in Free France 1939–1945 Commemorative war medal with clasps "France", "Grande-Bretagne", "Libération", "Allemagne" Medal of a liberated France Insignia for the Military Wounded (wounded twice on 6 June 1944, evacuated on 8 June 1944) Honour medal for courage and devotion (in bronze) Honour medal for youth and sports (in silver) Foreign awards Member of the Order of the British Empire (UK) Military Cross (UK) Received on 16 July 1944 from Field Marshal Montgomery 1939–45 Star (UK) France and Germany Star (UK) Defence Medal (UK) In popular culture Kieffer was portrayed by Christian Marquand in the film The Longest Day, in which the action against the fortified casino in Ouistreham is depicted. See also FORFUSCO : the present commandos Naval commandos (France) where one of the 6 Commando units is named after Kieffer. References External links ww2inthehighlands.co.uk netmarine.net Ordre de la Libération https://web.archive.org/web/20060111005920/http://www.commandosfnfl.net/ : a web site about the Free French commandos 1899 births 1962 deaths People from Port-au-Prince Haitian people of German descent Haitian people of French descent Haitian people of English descent French people of English descent French people of German descent