103-year-old D-Day vet receives French Legion of Honor Medal

Official Statements

• Fort Jackson Public Affairs Office, November 12: “The French government bestowed its highest medals for honor to a 103-year-old World War II veteran during a ceremony held at the U.S. Army Institute for Religious Leadership, Nov. 10. Dominick Giarratana, who as a young private stormed Omaha Beach with the 1st Infantry Division’s, 16th Infantry Regiment, was awarded the Legion of Honor Medal by French Consul General Matthieu Clouvel Gervaiseau at the ceremony. The National Order of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest decoration, was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.”

• Fort Jackson Public Affairs Office, November 12: “Gervaiseau said his government was honored to present it, because the story of the Legion being presented to “American veterans is inseparable from the story of France and the U.S. themselves.” He added “250 years ago, France stood alongside the American people in the struggle for independence, and generations later, when Europe was threatened by tyranny, young Americans once again crossed the Atlantic.” He spoke directly to Giarratana, who was surrounded by family members.”

• Fort Jackson Public Affairs Office, November 12: “Today, we honor your courage,” he said. “We also remember the ultimate sacrifice of so many of those who rest on French soil. They will remain forever in our hearts. Your generation, the greatest generation, helped give France back something that cannot be measured in medals or military honors. You helped give us back our future, the freedom to live, the freedom to raise children without occupation, the freedom to live in a democracy.” Virginie Durr, a native of Normandy, France, thanked Giarratana as well.”

• Fort Jackson Public Affairs Office, November 12: “I grew up in Normandy, just a few miles from Omaha Beach,” she said. “My great-grandparents lived in Ste. Laurent-sur-Mer, the village next to Colleville-sur-Mer. When you and your fellow Soldiers climbed those slopes, you were fighting for the freedoms of families like mine.” Giarratana, a Hackensack, New Jersey native, fought across France before being wounded by German artillery near Hamich, Germany.”

• Fort Jackson Public Affairs Office, November 12: “Thank you for coming when we needed you,” Durr added. “Thank you for the freedom you helped restore and thank you for the example you leave to your children, your grandchildren, and all of us.”

• Fort Jackson Public Affairs Office, November 12: “Giarratana’s family was also awed by his service. I never heard anything of what his time was “like as an American Soldier in World War II, or even more so, his being at the invasion of Omaha Beach,” said his niece Paulette Giarratana. The family was able to understand a little after watching the movie Saving Private Ryan.”

• Fort Jackson Public Affairs Office, November 12: “They asked him if that was a correct depiction of the D-Day landing and he answered “’Yes, that was accurate. That’s exactly how it was,’” Paulette said. “It was then that we understood that Uncle Dom was a war hero, a man who stood with his comrades and fought for liberty, equality, and community on that fateful day of June 6, 1944.”

• Fort Jackson Public Affairs Office, November 12: “She thought of him as an artist, and his son Bill lauded his trumpet playing skills, yet he was a tough Soldier who had a tooth pulled in a combat zone with no anesthetic. It was “very touching” for Bill to see his father receive this honor.”

• Fort Jackson Public Affairs Office, November 12: “Paullette spoke for her family when she said, “my entire family is greatly honored that the people of France are bestowing the National Order of the Legion of Honor to our uncle, my uncle Dominick, to recognize his heroism and the bravery of his fellow Soldiers.” American recipients of the honor include Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Gen. Douglas MacArthur.”