Sponsor of one of “la maison departementale” rooms on the la Martinerie site, the “Le Magenta” association, regroups all the veterans and friends of the 90th Infantry Regiment (90ème RI), the historical regiment of our department.

As such, “le Magenta” was contacted by an association from the Aisne department, the "Monument de Montécouvé" association, and by the mayors of the cities of Juvigny and Crécy-au-Mont to attend on August 29th, 2021, a ceremony commemorating the rebirth of a monument dedicated to the 90eme RI’s glory.

Indeed, for several years, stood near the city of Juvigny, a monument built by the pioneers of the 90ème RI, on which one could read “"le 90e RI - 17eDI a enlevé l'Orme de Montécouvé et l'a conservé les 23-24-25 Aout 1918" (The 90th IR – 17th ID removed the elm of Montécouvé and kept it from the 23rd to the 25th of August 1918). This is the very place were the Châteauroux regiment fought its last great battle and where no less than 162 soldiers perished that day along with hundreds being injured.

In this simple monument, dedicated to their fallen comrades, the regiment war diary mentions that a bottle containing all the names of the pioneers who built that monument was lodged within the stonework.

This feat of arms earned the regiment a new citation.

However, it appears that the monument had ben dismantled since then, which led to the creation of a local association with the purpose of rebuilding it. The project was completed and on Sunday August 29th, 2021, a delegation of the association, led by Colonel (H) Gérard GÉNICHON, last commander of the 90ème RI, carrying the “MAGENTA” flag, was present for the inaugural ceremony.

 NR newspaper article and the Presse review

Click on images to enlarge

Photo Credit: “Le Magenta” Association

The monument in 1918

The new monument

The Magenta delegation