One of Aiken County’s oldest military veterans is on track to receive a salute from the French government this month.
Houndslake resident Hal Peck, 99, an Indiana native who served in Europe during World War II, is to be the honoree at an Oct. 18 event at Houndslake Country Club, being awarded the French Legion of Honor. The public is invited and admission is free.
The honor was established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte and “was created to reward eminent military and civil merits in the service of France,” according to the Consulate General of France in Los Angeles. “It is the highest distinction that can be conferred in France on a French citizen as well as on a foreigner.”
Among prominent Americans who have been so honored are Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. Among their counterparts among the French have been such figures as Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas.
Beck served in the Army in the 226th Signal Corps and his introduction to France came by way of Liverpool, in northwestern England. He was drafted in the spring of 1943 and arrived at Normandy June 17, 1944, 11 days after D-Day, with the area having been secured. The future businessman, as he indicated in a 2019 interview with the Aiken Standard, never had to take aim at the enemy.
“My gun, during the whole service, never shot a shot. It rusted, at the end of the game, when I turned it in,” he said.
Peck, as a member of the Signal Corps, was a “climber,” responsible for going up and down telephone poles to help maintain the lines of communication. He confirmed that he did not carry a rifle while on pole duty, as he would have been a sitting duck for a sniper if he had been viewed as a threat.
The Museum of the Legion of Honor, on its website, offers insight on the commendation’s purpose: “As an honor, the Legion of Honor does not include any actual material or financial benefit. However, it is an invaluable source of pride for the recipients and their families and an example of civic service made public.”
It also notes, “The Legion of Honor has 79,000 members. On average, 2,200 French and 300 foreigners are decorated each year.”
___
(c) 2022 the Aiken Standard
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
