Florent, or Bob as he preferred to be called, was born in Canada. Tragically, his father died of the Spanish Influenza (pandemic), and at the age of 5, Bob, his mother, and two of his sisters returned to Manchester, NH, which was his mother’s home. Bob was very ambitious, and by the age of 27 he had accomplished his dream of owning a small, friendly breakfast and lunch restaurant in New York City. Less than one month later, he was called to serve his country in WWII.

Based on over 100 letters that his family saved, about two years of SSG Touzin’s service were in Algeria and Tunisia. Toward the end of the war, he was in Italy. Early in his career, because his spoke English and French, PVT Touzin served as an interpreter with Arabic and French officers when translating for Colonel Hawkins and the Intelligence group in North Africa. Bob received several promotions and was selected as Mess Sgt for his unit, a position which he took very seriously, and he often said, ‘an army marches on their stomach…..can’t keep the soldiers happy if you don’t feed them well’. His job was made more difficult by traveling over mountains across Algeria into Tunisia with limited food, water, and rest, often sleeping on the muddy ground in pup tents while being pursued by Field Marshal Rommel’s tanks.

In a letter to his mother written on June 3, 1943, SSG Touzin says we’ve been in the Tunisia battle for the last 3 months. It was very rugged sometimes, especially when we had to evacuate in a hurry with just the clothes that we had on and our gun. That’s when I lost all of my personal belongings, including souvenirs and pictures that I had saved. Imagine riding in a truck that didn’t have a cover over it, packed in like sardines, through snow, rain, and sleet – the longest eight-hour drive that I’ve had in my life, no breakfast or dinner and only one can of cold beans at night. There were no blankets, tents or shelters to sleep in for about four days. No raincoats, no overshoes, no stoves or utensils to cook with. We dug a hole in the ground to build a fire to cook over. After two weeks of this, we were sent back to the front with plenty of bombing and strafing. I dug a hole in the side of a hill to sleep in and duck the bombs, but now that it’s over, it doesn’t seem so bad.’

Bob was so proud of the fact that Lt. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, Commander in Chief of North African forces, congratulated Bob’s unit, the 31st Fighter Group, for their outstanding service. The unit’s motto was ‘With Honor We Return’. He maintained his fervent devotion to his Catholic faith, and he never forgot the folks at home. With each promotion, he would send more allotment, insurance, and other securities home to his mother to support her and help with his siblings. He was a prolific letter writer, rarely complained, and shared stories of some good times with locals, visiting churches, many of which had been bombed out or were used to store ammunition.

Florent (Bob) Touzin was a good man who served our country with honor and distinction!