{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://visclosky.house.gov/visclosky-helping-veterans-receive-commendation", "Visclosky Helping Veterans to Receive Commendation", "2013-08-14", "2013", "2013-08", "Democrat", "House", "IN", "Peter Visclosky", "V000108", "visclosky.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Overview \nCongressman Pete Visclosky announced today that his office is able to help eligible World War II veterans to receive the French Legion of Honor Medal. This prestigious distinction is available to veterans who served on French soil during the allied liberation of France. Eligibility requirements and a history of medal are below.\n\u00a0\n Eligibility \nTo be eligible for this outstanding award, you must fit the following strict criteria:\nYou must have fought on French territory in one or more of the four main campaigns of the Liberation of France: Normandy, Southern France, Northern France and the Ardennes.\u00a0\nYou must provide information on actions you were involved in that took place on French soil only during WWII. \u00a0These actions can relate to outstanding combat, wounds, having been taken prisoner of war, etc. Please note that actions taking place in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg or other border European countries will not be taken into account.\u00a0\nIn order to be complete the application for this award, you will need to provide all of the following information:\nA legible copy of your discharge/separation papers. It will help verify your military history.\nIf you have been awarded the Silver Star Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart Medal or other distinctions please send copies of the citations for these awards.\nA description of your combat actions during the war, especially those that occurred while on French soil, cities you helped liberate, combat which was particularly difficult, where and how you received injuries (if any).\nYour current telephone number and address.\nThe Legion of Honor is the highest distinction awarded by France, thus only a few medals are issued each year. Applications are thoroughly reviewed and considered.\n\u00a0\n The History of the Legion of Honor \nThe Order of St. Louis, military and democratic, was the most popular in the kingdom. Louis XIV founded it in 1693. It comprised grand crosses, commanders and chevaliers or knights, all of whom were Catholic officers of the royal army. Louis XV instituted the Order of Military Merit for Protestant foreign officers serving in France.\nDuring the Revolution, all orders were abolished, but it was soon realized that some form of officia compensation was needed to honor outstanding service and various collective and individual medals, crowns and arms especially, were instituted, particularly during the Directoire.\nBy an order enacted under Napoleon Bonaparte on 4 Niv\u00f4se, Year VIII, the \"Arms of Honor\" were instituted to recognize feats of valor by members of the army. These arms were engraved with the name of the bearer and frequently mentioned the exploit for which they had been awarded. Sabers signified first class. They entitled the bearer to double pay. To earn it, an individual had to have distinguished himself in an exceptional manner. Rifles, muskets and carbines along with drumsticks (for example those of the famous Arcole drum preserved in the Museum of the Legion of Honor), grenades, bugles and boarding-axes, signified second class and conferred the right to extra pay.\nYet the First Consul was already thinking about instituting a new award that would not be conferred exclusively for military valor. Seeing himself as the continuator of the Revolution, he conceived the formation of an honorary order that would reflect the principle of equality not only between military and civilian but also in services rendered to the country.\nNapoleon\u2019s project was adopted and by the law of 29 Flor\u00e9al, Year X, the new order, which he named the Legion of Honor, was instituted.\nNever was a name better suited to an institution. It was indeed a Legion of Honor with the head of state as its grand master. From the beginning, it has been conferred on illustrious individuals in all walks of life\u2014the military, magistrates, administrators and civil servants as well as men of distinguished achievement in the arts, fine arts, teaching, agriculture, trade and industry.\nIt was not enough, however, to recognize personal achievement and leave matters there. The founder of the Order wanted more, he wanted to spur the members of the Legion to even greater efforts in the service of their country.\nHe did so by instituting four ranks in the Legion: knight, officer, (commander until 1814), and grand-officer. In addition, Napoleon, as Emperor, added a fifth rank: grand croix or cross, called \"grand-eagle\" during his reign. The ranks of grand officer and grand cross are known as dignit\u00e9s.\n* * *\nFrom the outset, the emperor intended membership in the Legion of Honor to be a distinction of such illustriousness that it would fire people\u2019s imagination, spur soldiers to valor and be held in high esteem in other countries.\nOn July 15, 1804 the first crosses were awarded in the Church of the Invalides with all the splendor of imperial pomp. The emperor personally bestowed the awards on members of the great bodies of state\u2014the assemblies, judges, clergy, the Institute, etc.\u2014 and of course on the marshals and soldiers of the garrison in Paris (including the famous Coignet) after receiving their oath of loyalty as required by law.\nThen on the following August 16, an unforgettable, solemn military ceremony was held at Boulogne-sur-Mer for the troops who were to embark for England, the conqueror\u2019s dream. There, within sight of the enemy\u2019s shores and to a gun salute from his fleet in the English Channel, Napoleon personally bestowed the new star on the officers and soldiers to whom it had been awarded, among them men who bore the Arms of Honor, automatically members of the Legion, to whom the first promotion of the Order (about 2,000) was dedicated.\n* * *\nDuring the Empire, the vast majority of appointees were soldiers, but civilians of merit did not go unrecognized. Some of the most illustrious names in France at the time appear on the lists, learned men like Monge, Chaptal, Bertholet, Jussieu and Montgolfier; artists David, G\u00e9rard and Houdon; the musician Gr\u00e9ry: writers Bernadin de Saint-Pierre and Fontanes, and among foreigners, Goethe. Some are less famous, for example, Oberkampf, whose \"toiles de Jouy\" replaced the English cotton fabrics that were cut off because of the blockade, who was personally decorated by the emperor. And even a simple workman, a miner from Liege, received the insignia of the Order in great pomp in 1812.\nNapoleon, however, did not brave public opinion to the extent of awarding the Legion of Honor to an actor. The illustrious Talma, who was a favorite of his, did not receive it. (Louis Philippe was the first to award the decoration to a few actors, now little known, and to a male dancer but as a member of the Garde Nationale).\nThe Legion of Honor was retained during the Restoration and coexisted from 1814 to 1830 with the old royal orders that were revived. At that time, it went to many civilians. Victor Hugo and Lamartine were made knights in 1825.\nThen starting with the reign of Louis Philippe, the Legion of Honor became the sole French national order, and the awards instituted by the kings disappeared for good.\nSpace does not permit even a few words about the great deeds, the illustrious achievements, devotion, bravery, sacrifices, inventions and progress in all branches of human activity that the Legion of Honor has stimulated, encouraged and honored as its founder had hoped.\nSuffice it to say that the scarlet ribbon from which the cross with its motto \"Honneur et Patrie\" is suspended is coveted to this day by the most illustrious men and women of France and much esteemed abroad.\nOver time, as a result of political vicissitudes and serious events that shook French society, the founding statutes were slightly amended in a few points of detail, specifically in 1816 by Louis XVIII and 1852 by Louis-Napoleon.\nIn 1962 General de Gaulle signed a new Code which, while taking into account the evolution of ideas and manners, restored the Legion of Honor to the character it had at its inception.\nA second national order, the National Order of Merit, was instituted in 1963 as a complement.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://visclosky.house.gov/visclosky-helping-veterans-receive-commendation"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0174110066145658, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}