Source: National Archives & Historic Records of France
Aviation • Historical Archive • 🇫🇷 France • 1 views

Henri Guillaumet 🇫🇷

Henri Guillaumet (Known as "Hero of the Andes")
Legendary Aéropostale Aviator, 393 Andes Mountain Crossings, Hero of Wind, Sand and Stars
Born May 29, 1902 🇫🇷 Bouy (Marne), France
Passed Away Nov 27, 1940 Mediterranean Sea (near Sicily), Mediterranean Sea
Lifespan 38 years old
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Notice / Correction
"Ce que j'ai fait, ce que j'ai fait, je te le jure, jamais aucune bête ne l'aurait fait (What I have done, no animal could ever have done)."

Archival Overview

Peerless French airmail pioneer who flew 393 crossings of the Andes for Aéropostale, survived a six-day trek through winter glaciers immortalized by Saint-Exupéry, and completed 45 South Atlantic flights.

Biographical Record

Recruited to the Aéropostale in 1926 by Didier Daurat, Guillaumet gained legendary status for his consummate navigational precision and calm endurance. In June 1930, his Potez 25 was downed by a blinding blizzard at 13,000 feet near Laguna del Diamante in the Argentine Andes.

Trapped in freezing blizzards with only a pocketknife, Guillaumet walked for six days and nights without sleep through glaciers and crevasses, knowing that if he sat down, he would freeze. Rescued by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, he uttered the immortal words: 'Ce que j'ai fait, ce que j'ai fait, je te le jure, jamais aucune bête ne l'aurait fait'.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Bouy Communal Cemetery (Remembrance in French aviation lore)
Bouy (Marne), France
GPS: 49.0833, 4.3500
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