The old man was awakened at 4 a.m. He sleepily rose from his prison cot, donned his seven-star uniform, shuffled into the hushed courtroom. Nonagenarian Marshal Henri Philippe Petain sat nervously at first, then fell into a half-doze.
For 20 minutes Presiding Judge Pierre Mongibeaux intoned judgment. The verdict: guilty of intelligence with the enemy. Sentence: national dishonor and death. Recommendation: in view of the condemned's age, the death sentence should not be carried out.
The old man woke up, looked around unsteadily, picked up his gold-braided cap, shuffled off. Seven hours later, shorn of his Marshal's uniform, he deplaned at...
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