Soldat inconnu vivant

By Jean-Yves Le Naour

Subjects: Veterans, Biography, Patients, World War, 1914-1918, Amnesia, French Unknown military personnel, Soldaten, Soldiers' life, Missing in action, Amnesiacs, New York Times reviewed, Geheugenverlies, Soldiers, Eerste Wereldoorlog

Description: In February 1918, a derelict soldier was discovered wandering the railway station in Lyon, France. With no memory of his name or past, no identifying possessions, marks, or documents, the soldier-given the name Anthelme Mangin-was sent to an asylum for the insane. When, after the Great War ended, the authorities placed the soldier's image in advertisements to locate his family, hundreds of "relatives" claimed him-as their father, son, husband, or brother who had failed to return from the front.