09/22/2026
Meeting Pierre Fallet
, passionate about history, makes memory speak
At the age of 29, Pierre Fallet has turned his passion into his profession. Settled in Normandy since 2019, this young man from Charly-sur-Marne has made a name for himself in the very demanding sector of remembrance tourism. A remarkable journey guided by a fascination born in the lands of the South Aisne.
The trigger of the Bois Belleau
From his youth in the Marne valley, Pierre remembers a carefree childhood, made up of warm moments with family and strong ties with the neighbourhood, "my origins are in the middle of the vineyards, a landscape very different from the Normandy bocage", he confides. However, it is in the Aisne that it all begins. When he was only 6 years old, his father, Jean-Claude, took him to attend the Memorial Day ceremony in Belleau Wood. The emotion and solemnity of the place marked him forever: the flame of military history had just been lit. Moving towards management and marketing, Pierre knew one thing: he did not want to work in Paris. An awareness was triggered during an internship at the Museum of the Great War in Meaux. He then realised that he could bring his training and his love of history together. He tried everything and joined the IAE of Caen. A bold bet in a niche market, but one that is paying off.
More than a guide, a "historian researcher"
With a diploma in hand, Pierre joined a company specialising in historical stays for a mainly American clientele. On site, cultural adaptation is natural: "The Normans are quite open, although sometimes difficult to tame. I was very well received despite everything," he laughs. Today, his daily life is abundant: writing articles, managing the company's blog, developing itineraries and practicing immersive historical re-enactments on the Second World War. More than a tourist guide, Pierre defines himself above all as a military historian. To meet the demands of the families and descendants of American fighters who have come to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors, he carries out a real painstaking work: "my research in the American archives can last from 6 months to a year and a half". A dedication that takes him wherever the American army has fought, from Normandy to Belgium, via Italy and Germany.
At the heart of history
Based at the gates of Sainte-Mère-Église, Pierre lives in the middle of the tricolour and star-spangled flags hanging from the windows of the inhabitants. Every day, he measures the complexity of this local memory: the unwavering gratitude to these young GIs - often simple workers or farmers who have fallen far from home - but also the more measured memory of the elders, still marked by the Allied bombings and the atrocities committed during the Liberation. On the pitch, the visitors' reaction is still striking. They were impressed by the immensity of the D-Day landing beaches (more than 70 km of coastline) and the harshness of the Normandy bocage. This network of dense hedgerows proved to be a real strategic trap: "It took the Allied units almost 43 days to bridge the 39 kilometres separating Omaha Beach from Saint-Lô", recalls Pierre.
Memory and the future
Nourished by these stories of men and with this expertise in the field, the young man from Axon does not intend to stop there: he is now preparing the creation of his own tourism agency to continue to pass on, in his own way, this collective memory. On the other hand, a project could see the light of day, as part of its historical reconstructions: that of reviving the arrival of the7th American Armoured Division via the Avenue de Montmirail during the liberation of Château-Thierry on 28 August 1944. But that's another story.
