La Prière du Para (The Paratrooper's Prayer) is a French poem written by Aspirant (Brevet-Lieutenant) André Zirnheld, upon his death in Libya on July 27, 1942.
The Paratrooper's Prayer has been adopted by all French Metropolitan and Marine Infantry Paratrooper Units and Regiments. The Prayer appears before A. J. Quinnell's novel Man on Fire, the main protagonist of which is an ex-paratrooper in the Legion. This prayer also appears in Lt. Col. Dave Grossman's book, ', Rogue Heroes by Ben Macintyre, and Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead by Jim Mattis. The prayer, or some of it, is read in the French film Léon Morin, Priest (1961).
The Prayer of the Paratrooper