They were at the ceremony
Edith X.
“We went to Toulon by a specially chartered military plane”
John HENRY
"In January 68 I was doing my military service as a 24-year-old deferral... When we arrived in Toulon, we were told that it was our crew who would be doing the honors during the ceremony in honor of the missing from La Minerve . We didn't really like this period of Military Service, which was quite useless for us. But I will never forget this moment and this emotion that we all felt during this ceremony and this tribute to those who were like us " People of the Sea".
Jean-Joel DE RUDNICKI
“I remember perfectly the speech of General de GAULLE who came to meet us, us submariners, crewed, lined up around the flag mast with eyes drowned in tears and sadness. We could hear the sobs of the families, the wives, the crying of the children and Madame de Gaulle went spontaneously among the families to bring some comfort. »
Dominique LABE
“Young apprentice mechanic at the school of Saint Mandrier, on the day of the ceremony, we had been arranged as a milestone all along the route between the Place of Armes and the base of the submarines.
I therefore saw nothing, heard nothing of this ceremony, homage to those of Minerva, but I remember perfectly an image which, in an indelible way, remained in my memory.
It is not the characteristic silhouette of General De Gaulle, but, through the windows of the Navy buses, it is the tearful faces of the families.
Wives, children, parents, brothers and sisters, I will never forget the sorrow that was expressed in your reddened eyes. »
Daniel LUDER
“I was a cook sailor recruit on the squadron escort Kersaint, from July 1967 to 1968. The day of the disappearance I was on leave in Alsace. Back on Monday morning, there were no more ships in Toulon where we were passing through, our home port was Brest. On the quay there remained the sailors who could not embark, then we were informed of the disappearance, then transferred to our various ships on the spot in search of the submarine. The atmosphere was sad, everyone hoped to find him. The intense rumors of passageways gave hope, but the result is well known. »
Claude X.
“I had embarked the commission of inquiry, including Admiral Evenou, completely ignorant of the realities of these submarines. We gave him a demonstration of snorkel alert with a rapid dive and a strong negative trim, accompanied by simulated damage to the helm. All this in a collected calm, and an effective reactivity of the crew at the combat stations. The master electrician came to see me face to face, to tell me that one out of two electric motors had worked! The commission did not know about it, and Admiral Evenou found that the maneuver was successful, but rough, since he had been stuck against the wall of the saloon during the pitch attitude minus 30. In the encyclopedia of submarines, volume 3, the words of the admiral are repeated: "You could say that these submarines are too good, because their performance, and especially their maneuverability, make us forget too quickly that in the last resort, it is on the man that everything depends".