Fireworks went off in Paris on Bastille Day to celebrate liberty, equality and fraternity as the French government awarded the Legion of Honor to four American World War II veterans who fought the Nazis and saved France from seizure and occupation during a ceremony at the French ambassador’s house in Washington, DC American war veterans David Bailey, Ernest Marvell, Leslie Shimler and Benjamin Portaro were honored with France’s highest award. “As a member of the 106th Infantry Division, he was part of the resistance support troops that managed to slow and even stop the German advance,” said a French announcer, describing David Bailey of Bluefield, West Virginia, who first landed in Normandy. and then fought in the Battle of the Bulge. “I’m the oldest veteran of the Battle of the Bulge. That was in 1944. And I’m 100 years old,” Bailey told Fox News after the ceremony. “It wasn’t very pleasant. We landed on the beach and… in the worst world, and it wasn’t very, very pleasant.” WWII D-DAY: PHOTOS REVEAL WORLD’S BIGGEST AMPHIBIOUS INVASION American assault troops land on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, during the Normandy invasion. (Keystone/Getty Images) Ernest Marvel of Frankford, Delaware helped liberate the Dachau concentration camp. “In April 1944, Private First Class Ernest Marvel joined the 45th Infantry Division. He was given the task of firing rockets at enemy tanks. After heavy fighting, his unit pushed the Nazis out of France,” said the announcer before of the French ambassador Philippe. Etienne placed a medal around Marvel’s neck and kissed him on both cheeks. Marvel’s granddaughter, Willia Peoples, recalled that her grandfather told her that he passed his brother on the street in Germany, greeted him and didn’t recognize him in his uniform, after both had been deployed for two years. They both came home to their family dairy farm, where his sisters had kept the family farm running. Marvel traveled to Europe by boat. A man dressed as a US soldier looks over the site of the Battle of the Bulge before a ceremony at the Mardasson World War II memorial in Bastogne December 18, 2004. (REUTERS/Francois Lenoir) “We walked past the Statue of Liberty and all we had in our minds was that we might never see it again, but we came back — a lot of us,” Marvel told Fox. “Sniper Leslie Simmler of West Chester, Pennsylvania, landed on Omaha Beach, Normandy with the 79th Infantry Division…” Simmler, whose unit succeeded in liberating Sarre-Union before entering Sarreguemines in December 1944, joined Marvel and Bailey as they received their medals at the French Embassy in Washington. “I don’t want to make any more veterans. No, no more wars,” Schimler said while sipping a glass of French champagne and wearing his medal. Benjamin Portaro of Anmoore, West Virginia, came ashore at Cherbourg, France, a few months after D-Day and served under General George S Patton. Mr. Portaro was held prisoner in the German Stalag XIIA camp from January 1945 to April 1945. He escaped with a fellow prisoner and took refuge in the woods until US troops arrived, according to a statement from the French Embassy. Portaro was unable to make the trip to Washington to receive his Legion of Honor medal, first awarded to French troops by Napoleon. Veteran Harry Whistler’s war medals, including French Knights of the Legion of Honor. Benjamin Portaro of Anmoore, West Virginia, came ashore at Cherbourg, France, a few months after D-Day and served under General George S Patton. Mr. Portaro was held prisoner in the German Stalag XIIA camp from January 1945 to April 1945. He escaped with another prisoner and took refuge in the woods until American troops arrived, according to a statement from the French Embassy. Portaro was unable to make the trip to Washington to receive his Legion of Honor medal, first awarded to French troops by Napoleon. (courtesy of the Whisler family) D-DAY WAR HERO DIES ON INDEPENDENCE DAY, AGE 99 “The purpose was to express their gratitude to the nation for the courage of our soldiers,” Etienne said before the ceremony. “The contribution of young American citizens, the sacrifice of many of them for the liberation of Europe and France. So on this day, we celebrate our freedom and we want to express our gratitude to these Americans.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman added: “The Legion of Honor is France’s highest honor. And so to bestow such an honor on these gentlemen speaks to the depth and historic commitment between our two countries to fight for freedom . During the ceremony, he reminded that the war is still raging in Europe. A replica of the Statue of Liberty was draped in the Ukrainian flag in front of the French ambassador’s house in Washington. Jennifer Griffin currently serves as national security correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC) and is based out of the Washington, DC bureau. She joined the network in October 1999 as a correspondent based in Jerusalem.
