Mom's heartbreak as she heads to France to bury hero son

24 May 2017 - 10:33 By Taschica Pillay
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Lorenzo Rodrigues‚ 24‚ drowned last week after saving eight lives during a training exercise.
Lorenzo Rodrigues‚ 24‚ drowned last week after saving eight lives during a training exercise.
Image: Supplied

A former Durban woman is headed to France to bury her son - a lance corporal in the French Foreign Legion who died a hero - and meet her daughter-in-law and two-month-old granddaughter for the first time.

Lorenzo Rodrigues‚ 24‚ drowned last week after saving eight lives during a training exercise. He will be buried with full French military honours.

Rodrigues’s mother‚ Elaine‚ 47‚ who now lives in New Zealand‚ said the family was heartbroken.

“It is such a difficult time. It is tragic. No mother thinks this would happen to them‚” said Rodrigues.

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She said when she received a call from her daughter-in-law Fiona after midnight on Friday‚ she thought she was having an awful dream.

“My daughter-in-law was visited by the military. Her words were distraught. She said Lorenzo is dead. I went into a complete state. A major from the military came onto the phone and explained what had happened. My husband is battling to come to terms with what happened‚” she said.

She described Lorenzo as an exceptional swimmer.

“The fact that he drowned is the hardest part for me ... I can’t wrap my head around it. He died doing what he loved. He knew the risks but that was his passion‚” she said.

An emotional Rodrigues said she last spoke to Lorenzo on Mother’s Day and had thereafter communicated with him via text messages.

She said prior to the accident‚ Lorenzo had sent his wife‚ Fiona‚ a picture of himself with his team mates who were taking part in the training exercise.

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Rodrigues‚ together with other family members‚ will be attending the funeral service on Monday in France and will lay a wreath along the river where Lorenzo died.

“I cannot believe I will be laying my son to rest and for the first time meet my daughter-in-law and two-month-old granddaughter‚ Leia‚” she said.

She said the family would hold a memorial service in Durban in about three weeks.

Rodrigues said she was deeply touched by all the messages and calls from around the world.

“People Lorenzo came into contact with would agree that he always put everyone first. The fact that he saved those lives is incredible and such a selfless act‚” said Rodrigues.

On the Durban High School Facebook page‚ a post read: “DHS Old Boy Dies a Hero. It is with profound sadness that we learned of the passing of DHS Old Boy‚ Lorenzo Rodrigues‚ Class of 2011.

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Lorenzo joined the French Foreign Legion two years ago and died tragically on Friday in an act of bravery saving members of his unit during a rafting exercise. He saved eight lives and sadly drowned while saving his Corporal.

Lorenzo leaves his wife‚ Fiona Rodrigues‚ and two month old daughter‚ Leia Rodrigues. Our deepest condolences to Lorenzo’s family and friends. Lorenzo will receive a Military Funeral this week in Marseilles. RIP‚ Lorenzo. Deo Fretus.”

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