French President Macron awards country's highest honor to two Frederick County veterans

Dec. 1—French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday granted the highest honor France has to offer to two Frederick County veterans, declaring them knights in the Legion of Honor.

The two men, 98-year-old Samuel Davis and 96-year-old Carl Felton, were among five veterans Macron recognized during a ceremony at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., for the role they played in liberating France during World War II.

Macron, who is in Washington this week for his first state visit during Joe Biden's presidency, individually thanked each veteran for their service and pinned their medals to their suit coats.

He then embraced each of them and kissed them on both cheeks.

During a speech before he presented the medals to each veteran, Macron referred to the men as "soldiers of freedom who left everything behind, risked everything, to liberate France and the world."

The Legion of Honor — or, Ordre National de la Légion d'honneur, as it's officially known — was created by Napoléon Bonaparte in 1802 to recognize the achievements of both military service members and civilians.

Each year, about 2,200 French people and 300 foreigners are inducted into the order, which has nearly 80,000 members in total, according to the Grand Chancery of the Legion of Honor.

To join the legion, Felton and Davis — who live in Frederick and Adamstown, respectively — each had to provide documentation of their military service to prove that they served in France during WWII and helped liberate the country.

During Macron's remarks, he recounted how each veteran came to join the military, and the path their service took during the war. Davis and Felton were the first two veterans he recognized.

Davis, Macron said, joined the military in 1943 at age 19. He served with Company A of the 157th Engineer Combat Battalion, landing on Utah Beach shortly after D-Day.

The Frederick News-Post profiled Davis in a cover story for a special Veterans Day tribute publication in November.

In an interview for that story, Davis shared memories of his mother reacting to the news that her sisters and other close relatives had been killed in the Holocaust. He said the ancestors he lost in the genocide were one reason he decided to join the fight in Europe.

Davis beamed on Wednesday as Macron pinned the medal to his jacket. In another room, a cavernous reception hall, more than 1,000 people applauded as they watched the ceremony over a livestream.

When Macron returned to the lectern, he turned to Felton, who wore a baseball cap identifying him as a D-Day veteran.

Felton joined the U.S. Navy at age 17 — a decision that was especially remarkable because, Macron said, he didn't know how to swim at the time.

Felton was stationed on the HMS Ceres during the Allied invasion of Normandy, off the coast of Omaha Beach. He later manned a signal tower in the French town of Cherbourg, where he sent and received messages about the war effort from nearby ships.

Felton received the Legion of Honor in the mail earlier this year, but Macron officially presented him with the medal on Wednesday. After the president embraced Felton, the veteran clutched his arms and spoke with him for at least 60 seconds.

He spoke with Macron about the dangers of dictatorships, Felton's son, Jack Felton, told the News-Post after the ceremony. And, Jack Felton added with a grin, his father thanked Macron for the Statue of Liberty, which France gave to the United States in the late 19th century.

After Felton and Macron finished speaking during the ceremony, the president walked back to the lectern with a big smile on his face.

"He's got the best speech of the night," he said of Felton.

At the end of the night, as Felton left the embassy with his son and his daughter-in-law, Jackie Felton, he seemed positively giddy. He loves Macron, he said happily, describing the president as "very special."

"Today's one of the happiest days of my life," he said.

Follow Angela Roberts on Twitter: @24_angier