Barney Danson gets the Legion of Honour

A nice gesture by the French (h/t to Paul of Afghanistan Watch):

Barnett (Barney) Danson doesn’t see so well anymore.

Sixty-three years ago, while serving in the Canadian Army, he lost the sight in one eye when he was wounded by German shrapnel during a battle in Normandy. In recent years, his one good eye has deteriorated thanks to a case of macular degeneration, a fairly common ailment that afflicts people of his advanced age.

His eyesight is poor – he can’t read or watch television any more – but even with perfect vision, he wouldn’t have seen his most recent honour coming.

Earlier this spring, not too long before the 62nd anniversary of V-E Day, the government of France honoured the former infantry lieutenant (and later Canadian defence minister) with France’s highest honour. At a ceremony at Moss Park Armoury in downtown Toronto, France’s ambassador to Canada bestowed upon Danson the Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.

Ever the gentleman, Danson, 86, is quick to discount any personal merit in the award and instead credited his comrades-in-arms who made an even greater sacrifice for their country.

“I made a special point of saying I don’t know why I got it 60 years later,” he said last week. “I accepted on behalf of my regiment. They all deserved it and all the ones who were killed.”

The Chevalier (French for knight) honorific was bestowed on Danson at a special parade of the regiment that included current soldiers of the reserve unit and about 100 invitees. It was a stirring ceremony, recalled Danson, which included a playing of the Marseillaise, the French national anthem, and the presentation of the medal to Danson and five others – Frederick Barnard, Theodore Bennett, Arthur Boon, William Hale and James McCullough.

The Order of the Legion of Honour was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802. It’s the longest surviving decoration in France and its highest national order, similar to the Order of Canada. It is awarded to civilian and military personnel for acts that contributed to the defence and prosperity of France.

French Ambassador Daniel Jouanneau presented the medals. Noting the bravery of the recipients in the fight to liberate France, Jouanneau said “We, Canadians and French, [share] a long common history.

“A close link keeps us united: from the wars we fought together, the wars we won together at the highest price. Twice in their history, Canada and France were committed, side by side, to defend values they considered worth [fighting] for: liberty, democracy, sovereignty, dignity.

“France will never forget the Canadian soldiers who came from all over the country, all volunteers, all so young, who crossed the Atlantic Ocean to free Europe. Thousands died in France in Beaumont-Hamel in 1916, in Vimy in 1917 and we will celebrate them with great solemnity, in Dieppe in 1942 and during D-Day in Normandy in 1944. Courage, honour and sense of sacrifice characterized their exemplary behaviour.”

Danson, who served as defence minister in the government of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, enlisted in the Canadian army even before the war broke out. Along with his good friend, Freddie Harris, “we saw it coming and believed as Jews we should be there,” he said.

Danson “made sergeant” and was enrolled in officer’s training when Canadian forces hit the beaches on D-Day. Harris “did not want to miss D-Day, refused a commission and was killed on the beach,” Danson said.

Danson saw action in the battle to close the Falaise Gap, an attempted Allied encirclement of German forces in Normandy. On Aug. 20, 1944, as the battle came to an end, Danson was hit.

Despite his wounds, Danson considers himself lucky. Of his four closest wartime friends, three were killed. His regiment alone lost more than 400 men during the war.

He accepts the loss of eyesight late in life with a soldier’s stoicism. “That’s alright,” he said. “I’m alive and all my friends are dead.”

As for the award, he admits to being “a little embarrassed because I didn’t think I deserved it more than hundreds of others – thousands of others.”

In accepting the award, Danson said he did so “for Canada and the troops.”