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Medal of the French Legion of Honor. (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

Roscoe Joyner (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

Left: Anne-Laure Desjonquères, Consul General of France and Roscoe Joyner. Right: French Legion of Honor medal. (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

Anne-Laure Desjonquères, Consul General of France (left) and Roscoe Joyner (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

Friends and family gather for the ceremony. (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

World War II veteran Roscoe Joyner, 105, received the French Legion of Honor for his military service in France in 1944 and 1945. Joyner, who resides in Belhaven, was joined by a large gathering of family and friends. friends at River Forest Manor. It was a day of commemoration and receipt of France’s highest decoration from the hands of the French Consul General in Atlanta, Anne-Laure Desjonquères.

“This is one of the best days of my life,” Joyner said. “I didn’t really know what it was. I certainly didn’t tell anyone about anything. It must be something I did during World War II that they remember. All I know is that I did what I could, I did what I could.

Born in Spring Hope, North Carolina, Joyner served in the U.S. Army from 1941 to 1945 with the 203rd Field Artillery Group, assigned to General George S. Patton’s Third U.S. Army. He participated in numerous combat operations, including neutralizing German batteries along the Moselle, taking the Metz Fortress, and supporting the 90th and 95th Infantry Divisions as they advanced through the Siegfried Line towards Luxembourg and Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. “It is extremely important for us French people to be able to pay tribute to American veterans of World War II,” Desjonquères said. “We know how much we owe them for our freedom. As consul general, I enjoy organizing these types of ceremonies because it is an honor to meet veterans, hear their stories and show them our French gratitude. We are grateful for everything they did, even our younger generations who grew up listening to the stories of the war. We owe them everything. »

It was also a special day for Joyner’s son, David, as he shared many stories with the congregation about his childhood with his father and his time spent during World War II. “It’s wonderful to be here and talk a little bit about my dad,” David said. “He is a living national treasure and we must share him with everyone. He’s part of the Greatest Generation, and if you hang around him long enough, you’ll quickly find out why they were called the Greatest Generation. What they saw and did will probably not be equaled in our lifetime. What a great sacrifice he made, the greatest being his younger brother who was killed in action in Germany,” David said as he struggled to hold back tears.

The National Order of the Legion of Honor was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1892. It is awarded to both French citizens and foreign nationals who have served France or defended its ideals. Recipients include those who have made outstanding contributions to France, as well as veterans like the Americans who risked their lives fighting on French soil during World War II. The President of the French Republic designates the recipients.

Joyner joins a distinguished list of American recipients, which includes Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower and Douglas McArthur, Admiral Michael Mullen, Joséphine Baker, an American-born French dancer, singer and actress who aided the French Resistance during the Second World War. World War and as an institution. , the United States Military Academy at West Point.