Flat Rock World War II veteran to receive French Légion d'honneur Medal on Dec. 7
BREVARD — On Dec. 7, the day that all Americans remember as "the day that will live in infamy," a Flat Rock resident will be presented with the highest merit bestowed by the French government for his services in World War II.
U.S. Navy veteran George Sarros will be given the French Légion d'honneur Medal by Consul General of France, Anne-Laure Dèsjonqueres “based on exemplary services rendered to France," in a ceremony at 1 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Transylvania Elections Center, located at 150 S. Gaston St., the release said.
Sarros, 97, was born in Chicago and joined the US Navy at the age of 18. He worked as a postal carrier after the war, and he and his wife, Enrica, moved to Flat Rock in 2001. His wife passed away in 2007. He is joining an elite list of other recipients of the French Légion d'honneur Medal, including Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Gen. Curtis Lemay, Tom Hanks, Gen. George Marshall, Elie Wiesel, Louis Pasteur, George S. Patton, Eddie Rickenbacker, Gen. Colin Powell, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Audie Murphy and Gen. John J. Pershing.
Shortly after joining the Navy, Sarros was a motor machinist on LST 515, which, on D-Day and beyond, would unload tanks, ambulances, cargo and troops directly onto the Normandy beaches, the news release said. Sarros recalled "Exercise Tiger," which was on April 28, 1944, where seven ships were training on Slapton Sands on the English coast to prepare for the invasion of Normandy.
They were attacked by German submarines.
“Three of our ships were hit and the oil and fumes exploded. The Germans sent torpedoes to our ship but missed us," he said in the release. "We lowered our small landing crafts to rescue the survivors. A lot of those we picked up were dead. We lost maybe 1000 people from those ships but my ship saved about 100.
“On June 6, 1944, we sailed just after midnight. Our ship was full of engineers, tanks and trucks. We hit the beach around 1 p.m. I was manning a 40mm anti-aircraft gun. We had a German fighter come down and try to strafe us. But no sooner did he come down but a P-47 was right on his tail and just blew him right out of the water.”
When LST 515 landed, it was one of many that began the invasion which eventually liberated France and all of Europe from the German Nazi occupation. According to the release, the LST 515 made 65 trips across the English Channel in the next days, taking wounded soldiers to hospitals in London and delivering tanks, ambulances, trucks and engineers to the fight on the Normandy beaches. Later they took brand-new troops going to the Battle of the Bulge.
Following the Dec. 7 ceremony in Brevard, Sarros will be in the Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas, located at 21 E. Main St. to sign his story in the book "We Shall Come Home Victorious," which is a collection of stories of World War II veterans. The book is available for purchase in the museum for $20, iwith proceeds going to the museum.
For more information, email janisallen@janisallen.com or call 828-507-3171.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Local WW II veteran to receive French Légion d'honneur Medal on Dec. 7
