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Frenchie: The Story of French-Speaking Cajuns of World War II
244 pages, Paperback
Published September 10, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 8, 2025
A good World War 2 history book. Learned about this book on the French Tastic Exploration Youtube channel.
May 13, 2025
This non-fiction book about the experiences of those men who went to World War II from Cajun Louisiana who found that knowing how to speak Cajun French was beneficial to their service is a great read; this book developed out of interviews the author started in 2002 and his thesis in 2006. Alas, nearly all the men who served in World War II have passed on, but at least one guy mentioned in the book is someone both my husband and I knew.
Back in the 1920’s and 1930’s, to call someone “Cajun” was not unlike calling someone from West Virginia a “hillbilly”; it implied that you were backward, possibly unintelligent, and not interested in making anything of yourself. Also, school at that time was taught in English, and those who only spoke French either learned very quickly how to speak English, or else left to go back to the Cajun prairie (if they were in Southwest Louisiana) or back to the fishing boats (if they were in Southeast Louisiana). My husband’s grandparents always claimed that they were not Cajun, but that they were French. What happened in World War II was that thousands of men (and a few women) from Cajun Louisiana ended up in the services, where they were occasionally ridiculed for speaking French while in training camps, but once they ended up in North Africa, or Normandy, or New Caledonia, their bilingual status suddenly brought these men and women into prominence, and made them realize that being Cajun was a positive thing, not a negative thing. The book ends with a chapter about the experience of the Acadians from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia who went to war; in their case, oftentimes they had to translate from English in England to French, as many Quebecois in the war only spoke French. (The 1962 – 1967 show Combat! had a character nicknamed “Caje”, who was supposed to be a Cajun from New Orleans; my husband’s parents noted to him that the actor was speaking Quebecois French.)
Alas, most of those in the Greatest Generation raised their children to speak English and not French, not wanting them to be disadvantaged when going to school, so most of the Baby Boomer Cajuns did not learn to speak Cajun French. In 1968 COD0FIL (the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana) was founded, and now in 2025 my younger granddaughter, just turned five, may be going to a French Immersion School for her first grade schooling. We have come full circle, that I wish that my husband knew more of the Cajun French, but perhaps the Cajun French will come back. And with that mindset, this is a great book for any Cajun or Cajun-by-marriage to read.
Back in the 1920’s and 1930’s, to call someone “Cajun” was not unlike calling someone from West Virginia a “hillbilly”; it implied that you were backward, possibly unintelligent, and not interested in making anything of yourself. Also, school at that time was taught in English, and those who only spoke French either learned very quickly how to speak English, or else left to go back to the Cajun prairie (if they were in Southwest Louisiana) or back to the fishing boats (if they were in Southeast Louisiana). My husband’s grandparents always claimed that they were not Cajun, but that they were French. What happened in World War II was that thousands of men (and a few women) from Cajun Louisiana ended up in the services, where they were occasionally ridiculed for speaking French while in training camps, but once they ended up in North Africa, or Normandy, or New Caledonia, their bilingual status suddenly brought these men and women into prominence, and made them realize that being Cajun was a positive thing, not a negative thing. The book ends with a chapter about the experience of the Acadians from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia who went to war; in their case, oftentimes they had to translate from English in England to French, as many Quebecois in the war only spoke French. (The 1962 – 1967 show Combat! had a character nicknamed “Caje”, who was supposed to be a Cajun from New Orleans; my husband’s parents noted to him that the actor was speaking Quebecois French.)
Alas, most of those in the Greatest Generation raised their children to speak English and not French, not wanting them to be disadvantaged when going to school, so most of the Baby Boomer Cajuns did not learn to speak Cajun French. In 1968 COD0FIL (the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana) was founded, and now in 2025 my younger granddaughter, just turned five, may be going to a French Immersion School for her first grade schooling. We have come full circle, that I wish that my husband knew more of the Cajun French, but perhaps the Cajun French will come back. And with that mindset, this is a great book for any Cajun or Cajun-by-marriage to read.
February 24, 2025
4.5!
honestly the first hundred pages or so had me tearing up constantly with the recognition that these are my people! none of my direct blood fought in this war (farmers), but still hearing about the buds from cut off where my pawpaw’s family comes from was just wow. by the middle/third quarter it did get kind of draggy and the academicness of this book really shone through. i love the idea of giving insight into cajun experiences in wwii, but by chapter four it was like okay how many times can you repeat that cajun french came in real handy in the war just idk i can appreciate that he had a lot of veteran voices to fit into this and i guess specific historical moments too but jeez i don’t really care for these types of war specifics. more on the people to people level could’ve been cool or a different structure maybe idk. overall great read of my people’s history, but the bit of dragging in the end part lends itself to a slightly less than perfect rating
honestly the first hundred pages or so had me tearing up constantly with the recognition that these are my people! none of my direct blood fought in this war (farmers), but still hearing about the buds from cut off where my pawpaw’s family comes from was just wow. by the middle/third quarter it did get kind of draggy and the academicness of this book really shone through. i love the idea of giving insight into cajun experiences in wwii, but by chapter four it was like okay how many times can you repeat that cajun french came in real handy in the war just idk i can appreciate that he had a lot of veteran voices to fit into this and i guess specific historical moments too but jeez i don’t really care for these types of war specifics. more on the people to people level could’ve been cool or a different structure maybe idk. overall great read of my people’s history, but the bit of dragging in the end part lends itself to a slightly less than perfect rating
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March 29, 2025Among Cajuns with parents who were eligible to serve in World War II, the backstory of Frenchie is a familiar one. Perhaps that fact alone explains why historians apparently never put a book like it together before, but it's a poor excuse due to the importance of the Cajun WW2 experience to this community. Of course, for the entire country the war had enormous impact. However, for Cajuns and Americans in other communities who shared their heritage, whose culture (its language, especially) had been significantly suppressed by the Angloamerican power structure, it brought newfound respect both from outsiders and among themselves in a way that seems not exactly comparable for any other segment of American society.
In Frenchie, Dr. Jason P. Theriot relates many first-hand contemporaneous accounts of Cajun war effort contributions, supporting the idea that Cajun French-speaking ability was uniquely and crucially suited to help bring about victory in the European theatre. While the author most likely wishes he'd been able to interview more of the subjects, he does an admirable job of compiling a large number of their anecdotes into a highly readable tome.
My main criticism of Frenchie is that the editing leaves something to be desired, but this shouldn't discourage anyone with any interest in the topic from reading it. In particular, if you have Cajun ancestry, then the stories Dr. Theriot recounts are ones that will help you understand how your culture began to thrive again after a time when it looked like it might not do so.
My grade: B+
In Frenchie, Dr. Jason P. Theriot relates many first-hand contemporaneous accounts of Cajun war effort contributions, supporting the idea that Cajun French-speaking ability was uniquely and crucially suited to help bring about victory in the European theatre. While the author most likely wishes he'd been able to interview more of the subjects, he does an admirable job of compiling a large number of their anecdotes into a highly readable tome.
My main criticism of Frenchie is that the editing leaves something to be desired, but this shouldn't discourage anyone with any interest in the topic from reading it. In particular, if you have Cajun ancestry, then the stories Dr. Theriot recounts are ones that will help you understand how your culture began to thrive again after a time when it looked like it might not do so.
My grade: B+
October 11, 2024
Excellent research and interesting insight into a little known exciting period of American history
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews