By Ed Lowe
Senior writer
The Consul General of France in Chicago, Dominique Decherf, presided over a ceremony held in Daley Plaza on Tuesday, May 14, in which 570 World War II veterans were recognized for their contribution to the liberation of France from Nazi occupation in the year following D-Day in 1944. The award recipients were gathered from Chicago, suburban Cook County and the collar counties including DuPage, Kane, McHenry and Will.
All those participating were awarded the “Thank You America Certificate” from the French Government for their contribution to France. In order to be eligible for the award, the GIs must have served in, above, or on the
seas around France between D-Day on June 6, 1944, and V-E (Victory in Europe) day on May 8, 1945. Veterans
were contacted through various veterans’ organizations, filled out informational applications and were notified of their awards by the French Consul to Chicago.
Twelve vets from Inside’s service area were among those receiving the awards, though the French Consul spokesperson, Bernadette Day, was unwilling to release
the names of those being honored with the certificates because of privacy considerations.
The ceremony conducted at the Daley Center was one of many being held throughout the country. As the number of surviving vets dwindles, the French government hastened to recognize the contribution of these men and women to France’s freedom. The vets, who stood in the Daley Plaza, mostly gray and balding, some with canes or
walkers, are a group of men who demonstrated their heroism in battle and in the tremendous logistical effort that made for the successful campaign to free France from
the Nazi yoke and to go on to win the war against Fascism.
In remarks made at the inauguration of the D-Day Memorial in Washington last June, France’s Ambassador to the United States, Francois Bujon de Estang, had
this to say about the men and women who participated in D-Day and other activities in France:
“France does not forget! The Memorial we are inaugurating today is a well deserved tribute to the young men and women who fought in Normandy. Thanks to them, the ideals upon which our two nations have been founded remain the solid bases of our societies.
They also remain the fundamental inspiration of the extraordinary French-American friendship and alliance that transcends the centuries. On behalf of the French people, allow me to say, once again, thank you America.”
Those sentiments were directly responsible for the ceremony that honored surviving Illinoisans and their families.
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