Prince Aage of Denmark - An adventurer - Officer of the Foreign Legion.

.....as I opened a drawer in one of my cabinets to organize some medals for my dinner jacket.. I came upon one of my old badges from French Commando School - which, I attended, - It reminded me about...Prince Aage, who had a fascinating life, colorful and eccentric - born - Christian Alexander Robert Aage, Prince of Denmark, he was a great,great nephew of King Louis Phillipe of France, the King who founded the French Foreign Legion in 1831. After serving in the Danish Army, he finally joined the French Foreign Legion in 1923 and in February of that year arrived in French Morocco where he joined the the Foreign Legion at Meknes with the rank of Captain. He had been fascinated by the Foreign Legion since his childhood. A close family friend use to return on leave to Denmark from the Legion and in the evenings tell dramatic exotic tales of his adventures as an officer. Prince Aage campaigned in the Middle Atlas Region against the Berbers until May 1923 when he was assigned to the staff of General Poeymirau as liaison officer.

Legionnaire

He was awarded the Croix de Guerre in July 1923. The Foreign Legion is known for their eccentric commanders, in May 1924 he was given command of the mounted infantry company of the 2nd R.E.I. He saw combat action north of the border with Spanish Morocco. Here the Legion fought the Berber Riff leader Abd-el-Krim, who had raised the tribes against the Spanish. In 1924, Prince Aage was appointed to the staff of Marshall Lyautey as Intelligence Officer. In April 1925, Abd-el-Krim invaded French Morocco. Here the Prince participated in combat actions in the mountains. He served with the Legion in Morocco until his death in Taza, Morocco, 1940 and was buried in Sidi Bel Abbés, Algeria after serving with the legion for seventeen years. He had reached the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.