Image courtesy of Jason Theriot.
Jason Theriot with ninety-six-year-old Shirley Guidry of Lake Arthur following an interview conducted in April 2021.
Anyone who has spent much time in or around Acadiana has heard the stories of the young French-speaking Cajuns of the early and mid twentieth century who were forced to adhere to the 1921 “English only” policy in schools. Those who were caught speaking the language of their Acadian ancestors were often punished, resulting in generations of Cajuns who shirked their Louisiana French language and associated it with shame.
Jason Theriot, a historian, consultant, and now podcaster, is telling very different stories about the Francophone Cajuns of the early twentieth century. Theriot has spent nearly two decades interviewing French-speaking Cajuns who served in World War II, whose bilingual abilities proved massively helpful to the Allies in Europe and beyond. The resulting podcast Frenchie: The Story of the French-Speaking Cajuns of World War II is available on Spotify, Apple, and iHeart Radio; and will eventually be released in the form of a book, as well.
“Frenchies was a name given to the World War II G.I.s who served in places like North Africa, New Caldonia, and certainly in France during World War II,” Theriot explained in an interview with the World War II Museum. Cajun soldiers who spoke French were given the nickname “Frenchies” by their comrades and superior officers. “If there was an officer who was in need of a French interpreter because he needed directions, or he wanted to ask a local farmer some questions about where the German ‘pillboxes’ were located, they asked ‘Where’s Frenchie? Somebody bring me Frenchie up to the front line, I need him to interpret for me.”
The result was a resurgence of pride in the Cajun language and culture, spurred by the knowledge that these men’s bilingual abilities were an asset to their country and the Allies as a whole. The idea was born from Theriot’s grandfather’s war stories—initially, Theriot planned to interview his grandfather and some of his veteran friends for a short book. His grandfather was hesitant at first. Theriot then pulled a list of Iberia Parish World War II Veterans and asked his grandfather if he knew anyone on it who might be willing to be interviewed. By the following weekend, his grandfather had contacted dozens of his friends from the war and had them lined to tell their own stories about speaking Cajun French on the front lines—and that was just the beginning.
Having grown up in New Iberia himself, Theriot makes an engaging and relatable host as he provides historical context alongside remastered oral history recordings from the veterans. When completed, his book by the same title as the podcast will be published by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press.
Listen to the Frenchie Podcast on Spotify, Apple, iHeart Radio, or at jasontheriot.com.
