French Award Ceremony Honors
Civil Air Transport Pilots
France’s Highest Military Honor Awarded Fifty Years After Epic Indochina Battle
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On February 24, 2005, the Government of France honored the seven surviving American civilian pilots who voluntarily flew many hazardous supply missions to the besieged French Expeditionary Forces gallantly holding out at Dien Bien Phu (North Vietnam). Fifty years after their valiant service in support of their French comrades, these Americans received France’s highest military and civilian honor, “Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur” (Knight’s version). The “Legion of Honor,” created by Napoleon Bonaparte, dates back to 1802. The presentation ceremony took place at the official residence of the French Ambassador to the United States in Washington D.C. His Excellency Jean-David Levitte presented the Legion d’Honneur to the former pilots in a formal presentation. Family members accompanied the pilots to the ceremony. U.S. Government officials and other distinguished guests bore witness to the historic occasion. Pilots Honored: • Roland Nelson Duke Below are streaming versions of video coverage from the award ceremony. The original video footage has been generously provided by Monte Markham and streaming versions are provided online courtesy of the Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University. |
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TELEPHONE MODEM CONNECTION FILE: This file is a low resolution version optimized for telephone modem connections. This file is 18 MB in size. |
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DSL AND CABLE MODEM CONNECTION FILE: This medium resolution file is optimized for DSL and Cable Modem connections speeds of 278Kbps. If your DSL or Cable Modem connection is faster than 300K, you may want to try the higher resolution file below. This file is 93 MB in size. |
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| T1 LAN and SOME HIGH SPEED CABLE MODEM CONNECTION FILE: This high resolution file is optimized for connections that are 500Kbps and faster. This is for some higher speed Cable Modem connections and for T1 LAN connections. This file is 164 MB in size. | |
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If you experience any problems or difficulties with these files or have any questions or comments, please contact Steve Maxner at the Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, via email at steve.maxner@ttu.edu or by phone at 806-742-9010. |
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