Russian and French dignitaries are paying their respects to the last pilot in a storied French-Soviet squadron that fought the Nazis on the eastern front together in World War II. A funeral ceremony is being held Wednesday in Cannes for Col. Gael Taburet, who died Feb. 10 at age 97. Created by French resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, the Normandy-Niemen order flew 5,240 missions targeting Nazi forces from 1942-1945 from its base near Moscow. Born Nov. 12, 1919 in western France, Taburet joined in 1944, according to the Normandy-Niemen Memorial near Paris. He later served with the French air force in Algeria, then left the military for a management career.

Source: ABC News February 22, 2017 12:11 UTC