World War II Free French Naval Commando Officer. Born to French parents in Haiti and chiefly educated in the United States, he studied economics and began a career as a bank director in the United States and Canada. Upon the outbreak of World War II in 1939, however, he joined the French Navy as a reserve officer. In 1940, he was present at the battle and evacuation of the Allied forces at Dunkirk. With the fall of France to the Germans, he immediately joined the Free French Naval Forces. Due to his fluency in English, he initially served as a translator. Desirous to establish a Free French commando unit based upon the British model, he was granted authorization to create the 1er Bataillon de Fusiliers Marins Commandos (1st Battalion of Marine Riflemen Commandos) whose role was much like that of the elite Special Boat Service (SBS) of the Royal Marines and the British Army's Special Service Brigade (SSB). He and his men trained in Scotland and on August 19, 1942 participated in the Dieppe Raid in German-occupied France along with air, land, and sea elements of the British, Canadian, Polish, and American armed forces. The raid, known as Operation Jubilee at its outset, proved disastrous for the Allies, but the lessons they learned contributed toward their later amphibious assault successes against the Axis powers. The following year, 1943, found Commandant Kieffer and his commandos making nighttime raids in German-occupied France and the Netherlands. In 1944, in preparation for D-Day (Operation Overlord), he and about 175 men of his battalion were attached to Number Four Commando of the British 1st Special Service Brigade under the command of the very capable and highly decorated Brigadier Lord Lovat. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, Kieffer and his men (known during the operation as Number One French Troop) landed on Sword Beach with Lord Lovat's 1st Special Service Brigade and the rest of the British Third Division Group. Kieffer, at the time a capitaine de corvette (the French Navy equivalent of a lieutenant commander), had the honor of leading the advance onto French soil. His unit was instrumental in liberating and securing the strategic Normandy coastal town of Ouistreham, an event reenacted in the film "The Longest Day" (1962) in which Kieffer was portrayed by Christian Marquand. He was wounded twice on D-Day, but for two days he refused to leave his men and obtain proper treatment. Finally evacuated for medical help on June 8, 1944, he returned to his unit after only six days to recover from his wounds. He then led his troop in the Allied advance deeper into France toward the Seine and onto the seaside town of Honfleur in Lower Normandy. He and some of his men were the very first Free French servicemen to enter Paris. Within four months, the strength of his battalion increased to three rifle companies. After the liberation of Paris, he led his battalion in the attacks on German-held Vlissingen and Walcheren in The Netherlands and helped liberate the port of Antwerp in Belgium. Post-war, he remained in the French Navy as a reserve officer and in 1954 was promoted to capitaine de frégate (the equivalent of commander in the Royal Navy, the Commonwealth Navies, and United States Navy). His numerous decorations for his wartime service include, from the United Kingdom, investment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) which was presented by King George VI, the Military Cross (MC) which was presented by Field Marshal Sir Bernard [Viscount] Montgomery, the 1939 to 1945 Star, the France and Germany Star, and the Defence Medal. His native France honored him with investment as a Commander of the Legion of Honor and a Companion of the Order of Liberation. He further received, from France, the War Cross (1939 to 1945) with 7 Citations, the Volunteer Combatant's Cross, the Medal for Voluntary Service in Free France (1939 to 1945) with 4 Campaign Clasps ("France," "Grande-Bretagne," "Libération," and "Allemagne"), the Liberated France Medal, the Military Wounded insignia (in recognition of the two wounds he received on D-Day), and the Honour Medal for Courage and Devotion. In 1948, he published a memoir titled "Green Beret." In 2008, one of the present six French Naval Commando units - "Commando Kieffer" - was named in his honor as the founder of the French Naval Special Forces. In 2009, 110 years after his birth in Haiti, a monument honoring him was erected outside the French Embassy. He is also the subject of several biographies detailing his extensive wartime service.