Ferdinand Foch, the Supreme Allied Commander during the war, said that Roche was "the first soldier of France".

[1] In 1913, Albert was rejected by an assessment board of the French Army, because it considered him too puny to serve.

The position was neutralized, with several deaths and the surrender of the survivors, who believed that they had been attacked by a large force.

That made the enemy believe that the resistance of the garrison was still resolute, and the Germans eventually gave up the attack.

Exhausted, he fell asleep in a guard hole, but was awakened by a patrol who mistook him for sleeping on duty.

Albert returned home to Valréas, in the Vaucluse, where he worked modestly as a municipal labourer and married a woman from Colonzelle, in the neighboring Drôme.

"[7] Albert was awarded the cross of the Legion of Honour from the commander of the Army of the Vosges, General de Maud'huy.

Albert also held twelve further citations, including four from the order of the Army: In 1920, with seven of his comrades, he carried the coffin of the Unknown Soldier at the ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe.

He and five representatives of the army were also invited to dine with King George V. Édouard Daladier, the prime minister of France, requested for full military honours be given to him at his funeral.

Originally buried in Sorgues, Roche's body was transferred on September 22, 1967, to Saint-Véran Cemetery, in Avignon, in Vaucluse, where it still lies (square 40, north row, grave 15).

[9] In 2023 the Swedish metal band Sabaton released the album 'Heroes Of The Great War' in which the song 'The First Soldier' was dedicated to him.