I might be turning French!!!!
This will really flip your noodle:
North Texan earns French Legion of Honor medal
12:41 AM CDT on Wednesday, April 15, 2009
By MICHAEL E. YOUNG / The Dallas Morning News
myoung@dallasnews.com
RICHARDSON – Army 1st Sgt. William R. Johnson almost single-handedly drove his company through a hailstorm of enemy fire in a desperate push through northern France.
For his bravery, the World War II veteran was awarded the Bronze Star. Sixty-five years later, the French government recognized his bravoure , too.
On Tuesday, Consul General Pierre Grandjouan presented Johnson, 89, that nation's highest honor for meritorious service to the country: the French Legion of Honor medal.
The decoration was designed by Napoleon himself in 1802.
In a letter to Johnson, Pierre Vimont, the French ambassador to the U.S., said the award of "chevalier" – the French equivalent of "knight" – speaks of his country's gratitude "for your personal, precious contribution to the United States' decisive role in the liberation of our country during World War II."
Johnson, 24 at the time and freshly married, led his men in combat near Ottenville et Recrange, near the fortress city of Metz, which their 95th Infantry Division had taken a few days before.
Mortars fell like hailstones, and the heavy machine guns in two German pillboxes cut down anything that moved.
Staying put wasn't an option. So Johnson rallied his men forward toward their objective, pushing them and ultimately breaking through. Days later, the men of the 95th fought across the Saar River, gateway to Nazi Germany.
In 2004, France began honoring World War II American soldiers whose medals proved their bravery. More than 800 have been recognized in the past five years. Previously, the military medal was given only to World War I veterans.
"The Legion of Honor is the oldest and highest honor we have," Grandjouan said at Tuesday's ceremony, attended by family members, friends and neighbors at the Atria Richardson Senior Living Center.
"We don't give it easily – to heads of state, very prominent people and a few soldiers who helped our country during the wars.
"This might seem a long time coming – 65 years – but it is a mark of the gratitude we have for you. ... The time you spent in Europe helping us, it was extremely important, and we want to thank you for that."
Johnson's children portrayed their father as a man of strong faith and dedication, with a keen sense of honor. Given an objective, he'd do everything in his power to achieve it.
An Alabama farm boy from a little town called Choccolocco, Johnson decided early that the farm life wasn't for him.
An older sister had married and moved to Port Arthur, and he followed her there, ultimately meeting his wife, Marion, in the Texas coastal town.
With war looming, no one would give him a job – "You're going to get drafted in a couple of months anyway," employers told him.
So he enlisted in the Army in September 1941, married Marion in 1944 and, like hundreds of thousands of other young men, soon found himself fighting across France, selflessly and heroically.
Ross Perot spoke quietly with Johnson before Tuesday's ceremony and honored him as it ended.
"I've had the pleasure of knowing many of our great national heroes," Perot said, "but none are more deserving of that title than this man."
After quoting Abraham Lincoln – "Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure" – Perot led the crowd of 60 or so in a cheer.
"I'll say 'hip-hip' and you say 'hooray,' and when I say it the third time, you blow the roof off," Perot said.
They certainly did their best.
Last to speak was the honoree, a man of few words who did exactly as his son, Tim, predicted: "He probably won't say much."
But Johnson, who shows the lingering effects of a stroke in 2000, was clearly touched by the attention.
"This came as quite a surprise to me after so many years," he said, pausing, then pointing to Consul General Grandjouan.
"This man here, I give him credit for everything."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/041509dnfrenchlegion.3d3c821.html?nTar=OPURTo the French he's a hero...
...to Obama's admin he's a potential terrorist.
