Marcel Terfve was born in
Liège on December 2, 1893. His father, Gilles, was an aspiring notary and his mother, French, Marie-Jeanne Drapier, was unemployed. Single, Terfve was an insurance inspector before the start of World War I. In 1914, he volunteered and was enlisted in the within the 3rd company. Within the 1st Line Regiment, he was stationed upon the defenses at the
Gete at the
Battle of the Yser in October 1914. After the fall of
Diksmuide, Terfve spent the next 3 years within the trenches. Terfve then traveled to
France to study to become a non-commissioned officer and graduated as a warrant officer and he initially wanted to become a second lieutenant but he asked for his demotion to remain a corporal within his unit. On November 11, 1918, the first regiment joined the left bank of the
Ghent–Terneuzen Canal within the vicinity of
Kluizen. At 6:40 a.m., the 1st Line Regiment received a notice from the high command informing that a ceasefire would take place at 11 a.m. This message is confirmed at 9:08. An officer notes, however, the German forces retained their machine guns on the right bank of the canal. At 10:42 a.m., three soldiers were mowed down by machine gun fire on the edge of the canal. Two were seriously injured and Terfve himself received a bullet which punctured his left lung. Despite the regiment's best efforts to mend his wound, at 10.45 am, Terfve died, a quarter of an hour before the
Armistice of 11 November 1918 went into effect. ==Legacy==