Individuals in World War I • Colin Harrington McLeod (World War I) Lance Corporal First
Australian Light Horse Regiment, Awarded French with palm for gallantry at UMM ESH SHERT and as part of the
First Battle of the Jordan. McLeod was attacked by a raiding enemy party on the night of 01 April 1918. He held his position although he was subjected to heavy rifle and machine gun fire, until the enemy was forced to withdraw into a wadi where he advanced single handed and bombed them. His actions were the means of scaring off the enemy and an intended bombing raid by the enemy on allied forces. • Albert J Perron (World War I) 5724, private, Awarded French with palm, order no. 11.722 "D" dated November 19, 1918, General Headquarters, French Armies of the North and Northeast, with the following citation: "He displayed great courage during the night of October 4, 1918. With the aid of a comrade he carried the wounded from the first-aid station to the ambulance a distance of 500 meters under a violent bombardment." • Anthony Funicella (World War I) 101462, private, company B, 5th Machine Gun Battalion, 2nd Division. French with bronze star, under Order No. 13.296 "D", dated February 7, 1919, General Headquarters, French armies of the East with the following citation: "On October 4, 1918 near Somme-Py, he carried messages under a violent bombardment with the greatest contempt for danger and a bravery which was worthy of all praise rendering valuable service to his battalion commander." Residence at enlistment 619 Wardell Ave, Clairton, Pa • Sgt.
Henry Johnson served with the
369th Infantry Regiment, better known as the Harlem Hellfighters or the Black Rattlers, the regiment consisted entirely of African Americans excepting their officers. For his actions in battle in May 1918, Henry Johnson was the first American alongside Needham Roberts to receive the . He was awarded the with special citation and a golden palm for bravery in fighting off a German raiding party. Also posthumously awarded the
Purple Heart (1996), the
Distinguished Service Cross (2002), and the U.S. Army
Medal of Honor (2015) for his actions in the battle. • James Henry Legg Jr. was awarded with a Bronze Star for his contributions at Blanc Mont in October 1918. • Corporal
Freddie Stowers was also awarded the
Medal of Honor in 1991 for actions in the assault on Côte 188. •
Millicent Sylvia Armstrong was awarded the Croix de Guerre for bravery in rescuing wounded soldiers while under fire. • Lt.-Gen. Sir
James Melville Babington, Commander of the
23rd Division (United Kingdom) • Lt.
Fred Becker, the University of Iowa's first All-American left school to enlist prior to his senior season. Commissioned in the Army and assigned to a Marine platoon. KIA at Soissons, July 1918. Awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross,
Silver Star, and France awarded him the . •
Thomas Ricketts - Private, Royal Newfoundland Regiment - awarded the with Golden Star in 1919 for heroism on October 14, 1918. •
David Stuart Gaselee Burton, Flying Officer RAF. •
Hobey Baker, an American fighter pilot. •
Marc Bloch, French
historian, joined the war as an infantry sergeant and ended it as a captain. •
Arthur Bluethenthal, All American football player and decorated World War I pilot. •
Solon Hannibal de la Mothe Borglum, for work with the Les Foyers du Soldat. American Sculptor. •
Annie Brewer was awarded the
Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre, which makes her one of the most highly decorated nurses of any country in WW1 •
Bl. Daniel Brottier,
beatus in the Roman Catholic Church; acted as a military chaplain during the war. •
Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Melbourne and later Prime Minister of Australia, in 1917. •
Eugene Bullard, wounded in the 1916 battles around Verdun, was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his heroism. Served with the
Lafayette Flying Corps as the first African-American combat aviator. •
Georges Carpentier, Aviator during the war as well as a world champion boxer. •
Vernon Castle, Pilot in the
Royal Flying Corps. Flying over the Western Front, he completed 300 combat missions and shot down two aircraft. •
Harry Cator, then a
Serjeant in the 7th Battalion of the
East Surrey Regiment of the British Army, awarded the
Victoria Cross and the Croix de Guerre avec Palme for his heroism. •
Colonel Lawrence Moore Cosgrave DSO & Bar (August 28, 1890 – July 28, 1971) was the Canadian signatory to the Japanese Instrument of Surrender at the end of World War II. • Father
John B. DeValles, a chaplain with the Yankee Division, he was known as the "Angel of the Trenches" for his valiant deeds in caring for both Allied and German soldiers on the battlefields of France. Fr. DeValles was injured in a mustard gas attack while attending to a fallen soldier and died two years later. • David Mcilvenny, from Belfast was an ambulance driver with the British Army Service Corp. Serving in Italy, he was first awarded the Military Medal for rescuing wounded under shell-fire. He subsequently received gunshots wounds to the face. He was awarded the Croix De Guerre in August 1918 for attending to severely wounded French troops in Italy. • Cpl. George C. Doneworth, 84th Co., 3rd Bn., 6th Marines, USMC. Wounded four times in battle, including mustard gas, a bayonet through his thigh while jumping a German machine gun nest, a spinal injury (unbeknownst to him except for pain) from a broken piece of frozen ground hurled by a nearby artillery shell burst, and lastly a close-range rifle shot from a German soldier resulting in major head trauma at Belleau Wood on June 6, 1918; Col. Albertus Catlin had been shot that same day and place. That final head-wound in the eye socket, exiting at the temple near the ear, knocked him unconscious, and after being left for dead and waking later in the day near sunset, covered in blood, he walked back to U.S. lines and took two German prisoners while enroute. Upon arrival at the first friendly machine gun emplacement, he collapsed and was evacuated to a field hospital. Awarded the French Fourragère of the Order of the Legion of Honor for gallantry by a French General officer, an rare award by the French. He was also awarded the Purple Heart and two wound stripes, and medals for Chateau Theirry COTE-204, the Ainse Defensive Sector (with 4 stars), and the 2nd Division Regulars, U.S. Army. Spent 3 years in hospital in France, Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD. When recovered, he returned to his home in Harrison, OH and created the first American Legion Post where he became Commander. He lived to the age of 88. •
William J. Donovan, legendary soldier and founder of the
Office of Strategic Services. Awarded U.S. Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross and with Palm and Silver Star. •
Edward Terence Donnelly, brigadier general and the commanding general of the 164th Field Artillery Brigade of the
89th Infantry Division. •
Otis B. Duncan, lieutenant-colonel in the
370th Infantry Regiment (United States) and highest-ranking African-American officer to serve in World War I combat. •
Lucius Loyd Durfee, brigadier general in the U.S. Army •
Ernest Fawcus, officer in the
Northumberland Fusiliers and
Royal Flying Corps, awarded the Croix de Guerre for leading successful bombing attacks. •
Lady Dorothie Feilding, a British volunteer nurse awarded the Croix de Guerre for bravery in the field. •
Maud Fitch, a volunteer ambulance driver from
Eureka, Utah, was awarded the with a gold star for her courage rescuing wounded soldiers under heavy fire. •
George L. Fox, awarded the Croix de Guerre for his service on the Western Front. He was also one of the Four Chaplains who gave their lives when the troopships USAT Dorchester was hit by a torpedo and sank on February 3, 1943, during World War II. •
Robert Gauthiot, French
Orientalist, linguist, and explorer, interrupted his exploration of the
Pamir Mountains in July 1914 to return home to serve as a captain in the infantry. He received the Croix de Guerre before he was mortally wounded at the
Second Battle of Artois in May 1916. • Major Edwin L. Holton was awarded the Croix de Guerre for distinguished service as deputy commissioner of the American Red Cross in France in charge of re-education and rehabilitation of the disabled soldiers. He had a staff of 60 Red Cross Officials assisted by 15,000 workers. The staff he supervised helped 136,000 disabled soldiers of the 200,000 American wounded in WWI. •
William F Howe, Commanding Officer of 102nd Field Artillery Regiment on the Western Front •
Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Iremonger • Bugler
James A. Irwin of Company H, 30th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division, awarded the with bronze star under order number 11.602 "D" dated November 15, 1918, General Headquarters, French Armies of the North and Northeast. Irwin "acted courageously in the engagements of June 7 and 8, 1918. As liaison agent with the battalion commander he displayed great courage and much presence of mind, succeeding under violent artillery and machine gun fire in carrying messages where others had been unable to go." • Major General
Charles E. Kilbourne who was also the first American to win the United States' three highest medals for bravery. • American poet
Joyce Kilmer (1886–1918), a sergeant and intelligence observer with the 69th Volunteer Infantry, 42nd Rainbow Division, was posthumously awarded the Croix de Guerre for service. •
Henry Louis Larsen, an American Marine commanding the
3rd Battalion 5th Marines during every major battle of the war in France involving the United States. •
E. Brooke Lee American Major from Maryland. •
Lily Lind, New Zealand nurse. •
Henri de Lubac, a Roman Catholic Jesuit novice serving in the Third Infantry Regiment, who was severely wounded in the head on 1 November 1917 while fighting near Verdun. He later became an influential Catholic theologian and
Cardinal. •
Ronald Guy Lyster OBE,
Surgeon Lieutenant for the
Royal Navy •
Douglas MacArthur,
U.S. General of the Army and
Field Marshal of the Philippines, awarded two Croix de Guerre (one bronze palm and one silver-gilt star) for a
nighttime trench raid with French troops that led to the capture of many German prisoners-of-war as a colonel and for a nighttime reconnaissance mission into
no man's land to check if the enemy had withdrawn from their trenches or not as a brigadier general. •
William March, American writer, awarded the with palm. •
George C. Marshall, General of the Army and
Secretary of State, awarded the with palm. •
Lawrence Dominic McCarthy, was also an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. •
Horace McCoy, American novelist and screenwriter. •
Ruari McLean CBE (Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve), awarded in 1942, served in the Free French Submarine
Rubis •
John McNulty (U.S. Marine Corps) • Gustave A. Michalka, with two of his men he captured a machine gun by assault and killed the crew. By his bravery and prompt action he avoided losses in his platoon. • Sgt. Palmer O. Narveson, along with two other men, was separated from his company near
Bellicourt, France. He demolished a machine gun nest and reducing a second hostile position. He continued to advance, refusing to be evacuated, despite wounds and suffering the effects of gas. •
Joseph Oklahombi, American soldier of the Choctaw nation who was a
Choctaw code talker •
George S. Patton, legendary American general. •
Waldo Peirce, American
Red Cross volunteer (1918, for courage during the Vosges Hills Battle) •
Isabel Weld Perkins, for
Red Cross volunteer work. •
Thomas A. Pope 1918 Corporal, U.S. Army; also earned the U.S. Army Medal of Honor, the British Distinguished Conduct Medal, and the Médaille militaire, for bravery displayed in Hamel, France. •
Eddie Rickenbacker, Captain and flying ace of the
94th Aero Squadron,
United States Army Air Service, during World War I; also recipient of the U.S.
Medal of Honor. •
James E. Rieger, Major (later Colonel), led a key attack during the Meuse-Argonne offensive. Also awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross •
Harold W. Roberts was awarded the with bronze palm for his valor in the Battle of Meuse River-Argonne Forest, in which he died, near the town of Exermont, France. He was also awarded the Medal of Honor, the French Military Medal, and the Italian War Cross (all posthumously). •
Needham Roberts served with the 369th Infantry Division, better known as the Harlem Hellfighters or the Black Rattlers, a regiment consisted entirely of African Americans excepting their commanding officers. Roberts was the first American alongside Henry Johnson to receive the . •
Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of President Theodore Roosevelt. Battalion commander in France. •
Milunka Savić, Serbian female non-commissioned officer was awarded the French Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 with Palm. She is the only woman in the world awarded this medal for service in World War I. •
James M. Sellers, president of
Wentworth Military Academy and College and U.S. Marine. Awarded the Croix de Guerre for heroism at
Belleau Wood •
Laurence Stallings, American writer. •
Donald Swartout, American Jackson, Michigan, intelligence pfc, Comp I,
128th Infantry, 32d Div. French with bronze palm," dated March 15, 1919, General Headquarters, French Armies of the East
Marshal Petain for carrying important messages between Juvigny and Terny Sorny while wounded. •
Allen Melancthon Sumner,
United States Marine Corps, killed in France in 1918, awarded the with gilt star. •
Stephen W. Thompson, aviator, was awarded the with palm. He is credited with the first aerial victory by the U.S. military. •
John Tovey,
Royal Navy, later became a senior naval commander and an
Admiral of the Fleet. •
Ludovicus Van Iersel, Dutch-American sergeant who won the Croix de Guerre twice while serving in France. •
Blake R. Van Leer, American engineer who was awarded the Croix de Guerre while serving as a Colonel for the
Corps of Engineers in France. •
James Waddell was one of
New Zealand's most highly decorated soldiers of the
First World War. Waddell was received in the French
Legion of Honour and promoted twice. He was also awarded the French Croix de Guerre seven times during the war. •
Herbert Ward, artist, sculptor and African explorer, awarded the Croix de Guerre while serving with the British Ambulance Committee in the
Vosges •
Edwin "Pa" Watson, served in France. Earning the U.S. Army Silver Star and the Croix de Guerre from the French government. •
William A. Wellman, American fighter pilot in the Lafayette Flying Corps, awarded with two palm leaves, 1918 •
Samuel Woodfill, an American infantry lieutenant who disabled several German machine-gun nests and killed many enemy combatants with rifle, pistol and pickaxe. He was awarded the American
Medal of Honor and the French Croix de Guerre. •
Alvin C. York was awarded the with bronze palm for his valor in the
Battle of Meuse River-Argonne Forest near the town of
Verdun, France. Also awarded the American Medal of Honor. •
Archibald James Fergusson Eden, Brigadier General in the British Army. •
Virginia Hall Goillot
DSC, Croix de Guerre,
MBE(April 6, 1906 – July 8, 1982), code named Marie and Diane, was an American who worked with the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in France during World War II. The objective of SOE and OSS was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers, especially Nazi Germany. (SOE)and (OSS) agents in France allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. After World War II Hall worked for the
Special Activities Division of the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). •
Charles Dinsmore Davis, American sergeant Company F, 321st infantry, 81st Division; and later, member of Little Rock, Arkansas City Council. "Sargeant Charles D. Davis who acted as a liaison runner between the Second Battalion and the French Division on the left, reaching hid destination by passing thru 'No Man's Land' between two companies of the 322nd infantry and the enemy, and bringing back to his battalion commander accurate advice of the situation not only of the French troops, but of the companies of the 322nd infantry and of the companies of his own battalion. •
Georgette Degund, French woman who chased a German soldier through the streets hit him on the head with a snowball and made him fall down. Citation reads: "“DEGUND, Georgette, le d’une vaillance et d’une cner le remarquatics. Le Ier Janvier 1918, n’e pas hesitcr a attiquer, seule, Un spirant, representant une section de chasscurs, L’a poursuivi et, d’une seule boule de neiae ( Grenads ) l’a culbute.” L”avait aucune citation juis le marrte boutCL Un Consequence, nous, les I. T. D. Presente citation done droit au purt ce la euaille militalle et ce L Croix de Guerre Avec palme." • John P. Stein, Chief Mechanic of the 117th Trench Mortar Battery, of the 42nd (Rainbow) Division, in action in the Battle of Bacarrat, while under the heavy shelling of a trench mortar battery on the afternoon of March 9, 1918, where, in the open and without protection, he repaired trench mortars which had been knocked out of action by shellfire.
Individuals in World War II s of the
369th Infantry Regiment posing after World War I with their Croix de Guerre medals •
Jehan Alain, French organist and composer. Engaged with enemy, single-handedly killing 16 with carbine before being killed himself. •
Władysław Anders, Polish general, commander of the
2nd Polish Corps, 1943–46. •
Vera Atkins, assistant to head and intelligence officer of the French section of
Special Operations Executive (SOE). •
John Beech Austin, Squadron Leader in both the RAF and the
SOE. • Ralph Chamberlain, returned on two separate occasions to an active mine field to rescue several badly injured soldiers. Awarded the with Palm Leaf for bravery and services rendered to Belgium. •
Maurice Bambier, French politician and former Mayor of Montataire, awarded the French Croix de Guerre for his services during the
Dunkirk evacuation. •
Josephine Baker, American-born French dancer, singer and actress, for her work in the
French Resistance. •
Samuel Beckett, awarded the Croix de Guerre by General
Charles de Gaulle in March 1945. •
Marcel Bigeard, highly decorated French general and veteran of World War II, French Indochina and Algeria; received both the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 and the Croix de guerre TOE with a total of 25 citations, including 17 palms. •
Robert M. Blackburn, American, Fighter pilot, Des Moines, Iowa, 405th Fighter Group, flew over 117 missions over enemy territory, Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, Air medal with 21 Oak Leaf Clusters, purple heart, Silver Star, shot down near Dortmund, Germany, and killed after capture by SS Officer on March 25, 1945 [War Department]. •
Mary E. Blanshard (Hall), British-born, saboteur, spy. Engaged in work with French Resistance. •
Albert Browne-Bartroli, Special Operations Executive agent in
Burgundy, France •
Gabriel Brunet de Sairigné, French colonel who participated with the
Free French Forces to the
East African campaign (in
Eritrea and
Syria), the
Tunisia Campaign, the
Allied invasion of Sicily, the
Operation Dragoon and the campaign of
Alsace. •
Phil H. Bucklew, US naval officer; "Father of American Naval Special Warfare". •
Frederick Walker Castle, U.S. Army Air Forces general and posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor •
Thomas Cassilly, 104th Infantry Division. Awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the French Croix de Guerre. Retired US State Department Foreign Service Officer and International Relations Professor. •
Peter Churchill. Special Operations Executive officer in French section. •
Jacques Cousteau, aqualung inventor, diver and underwater film maker. •
Ève Curie, Author, war correspondent, lieutenant in the
1st Armored Division, "First Lady of
UNICEF" •
Lionel Guy D'Artois, Canadian Army officer and
SOE agent; awarded the Croix de Guerre for service with the Interior French Forces in occupied France. •
Philippe Daudy, journalist and novelist. •
Avery Dulles,
S.J., awarded the Croix de Guerre for his liaison work with the French Navy. •
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander during the liberation of France. •
Frantz Fanon, awarded the Croix de Guerre by
Raoul Salan for service in the French Free Forces in North Africa and
Alsace. •
Carl Gustav Fleischer, Norwegian general, who won the first major victory against the German Axis forces. •
Stephen Galatti, Director of
AFS, American Field Service •
Laure Gatet, French biochemist and a spy for the French Resistance. •
Francis Grevemberg, United States lieutenant colonel, later superintendent of
Louisiana's state police. •
William Grover-Williams, Grand Prix driver and network organiser in the French section of the
SOE •
Thomas "Loel" Guinness,
Group Captain and pilot •
Tony Halik Polish pilot in RAF; after being the only Polish/
RAF pilot shot down over France, he joined the French resistance. •
Virginia Hall American spy who operated in occupied France. The Gestapo considered her "the most dangerous of all Allied spies". Awarded the Croix de Guerre avec Palme. •
Bob Hoover, Army Air Corps pilot and USAF test pilot •
John Howard, awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1944 for his valor. When his ship struck a mine off the French coast, killing the captain, Howard took over command and fought valiantly to save his ship and crew, even jumping into the sea to rescue wounded sailors. •
Agnès Humbert, art historian, was awarded the with silver gilt palm, for heroism in her work in the
French Resistance. • Charles F. Irving, 2LT. 2nd Armored Division, U.S. Army, was awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1944 for heroism in action for the liberation of France. •
Whitfield Jack, colonel under General
Matthew Ridgway in
Ruhr Valley campaign; major general later in
United States Army Reserve •
Olivia Jordan, ambulance driver and interpreter/driver to
Charles de Gaulle 1940 - 1943 •
Maria Justeau, French Resistance heroine. •
Noor Inayat Khan, a wireless operator in the French section of the
SOE. She was flown to occupied France in June 1944 and operated until mid. October. Captured and tortured, she was eventually executed at Dachau concentration camp on 13 September 1944; awarded the George Cross posthumously. •
Bernard Knox, English-born classicist and author, who served with the U.S. Army during WWII and was awarded the Croix de Guerre avec Palme for his service with the French Resistance during
Operation Jedburgh. •
Jan Kubiš, Czechoslovak paratrooper and assassin of Reichsprotektor of
Bohemia and Moravia,
SS-
Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, in 1942 as part of
Operation Anthropoid. •
James Harry Lacey 'Ginger'. R.A.F. Battle of Britain Ace - Awarded May 1940, but not presented until 1983. •
John C. H. Lee, Lt. Gen, Commander of the Com-Z and Army Service Forces in the ETO, May 1942 to Dec. 1945 •
Curtis E. LeMay, awarded the French with palm. • Lt. Colonel Charles F. Lewis, 344th Engineers Battalion. Awarded the French Croix de Gerre for bridge work on the Rhone. • Major
Desmond Longe,
SOE agent and commander of Mission Eucalyptus. Awarded the French with palm. •
Douglas MacArthur,
U.S. General of the Army and
Field Marshal of the Philippines, awarded the with bronze palm. • Lt. Colonel Montie Magree M.D., 329th Medical Battalion. Born in Maywood, Illinois died Long Beach, California. Awarded the French Croix de Guerre •
André Malraux French novelist, art theorist and Minister for Cultural Affairs. •
George C. Marshall,
General of the Army and
Secretary of State, awarded the with palm. •
Jean Mayer, future president of
Tufts University, awarded for his courage and bravery. •
Lt.Colonel Blair "Paddy" Mayne, British Special Air Service, with Palm. Awarded Légion d'honneur, awarded the Distinguished Service Order (UK) four times. •
William A. McNulty, a WWII U.S. Army field commander • General
Dragoljub Mihailovic, Serbian officer and
Allied resistance leader of the
Royal Yugoslav Army in Fatherland, awarded by
Charles de Gaulle. •
Paul de Montgolfier, fighter pilot for the
French Air Force. •
Edmond J. Moran, led tug fleet on D-Day, one of the most influential figures in 20th-century U.S. shipping history. •
Audie Murphy, American actor; most decorated U.S. Army soldier during the war, was awarded the French "Croix de Guerre avec Palme" three times and the Belgian with Palm once, as well as the American
Medal of Honor. •
Leonard W. Murray, Canadian admiral, awarded the with bronze palm for his role in the
Battle of the Atlantic. •
Eileen Nearne, member of the UK's
SOE. She served in
occupied France as a radio operator under the codename "Rose". •
John B. Oakes, future editor of
The New York Times; awarded for his counter-espionage activities with the
Office of Strategic Services (OSS). •
Marcel Oopa,
Polynesian politician. •
Peter J. Ortiz, Marine officer; member,
Office of Strategic Services (OSS). •
George S. Patton, U.S. Army general. Awarded for leading
U.S. Third Army during the
liberation of France. •
Jean-Claude Pascal (1927–1992), awarded the Croix de Guerre for his military valor. •
Andrée Peel (1905–2010), French Resistance member. • Col.
David E. Pergrin, awarded the Croix de Guerre for service during the
Battle of the Bulge. •
Harry Peulevé, a wireless operator and organiser in the French Section of the
SOE. •
Prince Philip, awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1948 for service in the Royal Navy. •
Abbé Pierre (1912–2007), French Roman Catholic cleric; founder of Emmaus. •
Forrest Pogue, US Army combat historian. •
Jacques Poirier,
Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent and member of the
French Resistance •
Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, decorated with the Croix de Guerre for service with the
Free French army. • Russell Roach, American corporal of A Company,
3rd US Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), awarded the
Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 in 1944 for his bravery and valor during the Liberation of France during his campaign in Rhineland, Germany. •
James N. Robertson, member of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1949–1952),
Brigadier General in the
Pennsylvania National Guard •
James E. Robinson Jr., American artillery officer who assumed command of a depleted infantry company and took the city of
Kressbach. •
Lowell Ward Rooks, American army officer. •
Robert Rosenthal of the
Eighth Air Force of the
USAF. •
Guy de Rothschild, awarded the Croix de Guerre for his military valor. •
Philippe de Rothschild, awarded the Croix de Guerre for his service with the
Free French Forces. •
Alexander Sachal, Russian artist who joined the French Resistance; awarded the . •
Leo Genn,
Lt.Col. RA, awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1945. being awarded the with Palm in 1944 •
George Scales, British farmer/Commanding Officer LCT-7011 awarded the Croix de Guerre during D-Day. Presented to him in 2007 by French Attache Naval, Capitaine de Vaisseau Jean Nicolas Gauthier of the Ministere de la Defense. •
Desmond J. Scott, New Zealand fighter pilot and
Group Captain who flew for the RAF. He was awarded both the Belgian and the French Croix de Guerre. • Major Edward Cecil Scott, A Battery Commander, 5 Canadian Anti-Tank Regiment, for actions taken during the Battle of the Falaise Pocket •
Jan Smuts, South African Prime Minister. •
Raymond Franklin Gibson, American Ambulance Corp. Macon, Georgia. •
Mahmoud Harbi, Vice President of the Government Council of French Somaliland. •
George Reginald Starr,
Special Operations Executive. •
James Stewart, American actor awarded the with Palm in 1944. •
Violette Szabo, a British
SOE agent who was sent into occupied France. Her first mission was a success, but during her second mission she was captured and tortured. Eventually sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp, she was executed on 5 February 1945 (at age 23); awarded the George Cross posthumously. •
Alfred Touny (1886–1944), a leader of the French Resistance, now buried in the
Mémorial de la France combattante. • James Tracey, 3191945 Private in the 6th (Border) Battalion -
King's Own Scottish Borderers; At Evrecy, in July 1944, he was with his CO (Lieutenant-Colonel J.G. Shillington) on a visit to a forward Convoy when a shell exploded nearby severely wounding the CO. Pte Tracey, though wounded himself by the blast, showed great presence of mind, tended to his CO's wounds and got him back to the Regimental Aid Post in his carrier then returned to Battalion HQ to report before going back himself. Awarded the with Bronze Star. •
Matt Urban, highly decorated American combat soldier with awards including the Medal of Honor and 7 Purple Hearts •
Nancy Wake of the
SOE was the highest decorated Allied servicewoman of the war. Awarded the Croix de Guerre three times for service with the
French maquis. •
F.F.E. Yeo-Thomas, member of RF Section of the
SOE. A
Special Operations Executive Liaison officer, he worked with the
Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action (BCRA) of the Free French forces organising and coordinating resistance in both Vichy and Occupied France. •
US Army Staff Sergeant Joseph R. Beyrle • Major
Richard D. Winters, fought with Easy Company,
506th Parachute Infantry Regiment,
101st Airborne Division from the Normandy invasion to
Operation Market Garden to the
Battle of the Bulge. He was besieged at
Bastogne and aided with taking of Hitler's
Eagle's Nest in
Austria. • Jack M. Greener, Medic, K Company - 409th Regiment (103rd Infantry). In addition to the Croix de Guerre he received a Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Silver Star with Silver Oakleaf Cluster • Colonel
Donald J. Richardson earned with gold star. Commander of the 2nd battalion, 304th infantry of the 76th division, also receiving silver star, bronze star with oak leaf cluster, purple heart and Legion of Merit after his death in 1965. Served as Colonel in Korea, 8th Army, and later as senior military advisor in the Connecticut National Guard. • First Sgt. Edward J. Stone of the US Army 40th General Hospital in Paris was awarded the with bronze star two times for his service during World War II. • Glenn Wayne Ferguson an American while serving in the French Foreign Legion during Desert Storm was awarded the Croix du Guerre TOE etoile du bronze was mentioned in dispatches at Brigade level. •
Howard Warren Clark, USMA 1941, XX Corps, Patton's 3rd Army, Corps of Engineers, awarded French with Palm for valorous actions during assaults •
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran.
Other recipients During World War I,
Cher Ami, a
carrier pigeon with the 77th Division, helped save the lives of 194 American soldiers by carrying a message across enemy lines in the heat of battle. Cher Ami was shot in the chest and leg, losing most of the leg to which the message was attached, and blinded in one eye, but continued the 25-mile flight avoiding shrapnel and poison gas to get the message home. Cher Ami was awarded the French with Palm for heroic service. He later died from the wounds received in battle and was enshrined in the
Smithsonian Institution.
Aram Karamanoukian, a lieutenant-general of the Syrian army of
Armenian descent, who participated in the
First Arab-Israeli war, was awarded the . ==See also==