More than 80 years after being inducted into the U.S. Army, Pedro Vera received the French Legion of Honor— that country’s highest civil and military distinction — in a ceremony Wednesday at Veterans Plaza.
The 103- year- old veteran was honored for his service on D-Day, June 6, 1944, when he aided wounded soldiers following the invasion of Normandy, the military invasion that led to the liberation of France in August of that year.
Tracy Huff, Alamo Honor Flight’s president, said Wednesday’s recognition was the first ever for Vera, inducted into the U.S. Army in December 1942 at Fort Sam Houston. Not only did Vera receive the Legion medal, but he was also given a plaque of U.S. Congressional recognition by Jesus Martinez out of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar’s office.
Retired Major Gen. Robert Parker reviewed highlights of Vera’s service, which included landing on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and taking part in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.
Parker read an outtake of diary records the then-20-year-old ambulance driver kept regarding the D-Day invasion.
“We waited about two or three days before we crossed the English Channel to Normandy,” Vera wrote. “We finally arrived at the beach but when we got to the beach, we could not get off the boat because they were still fighting. It took us about two days before we could get off the boat.
“ The first load of injured soldiers I took to Saint Mere Eglise, about three miles from the beach. The hospital was nearby.”
As an ambulance driver, Parker said, Vera’s job was crucial for getting injured soldiers to military hospitals or tents as quickly as possible. He read the testimony of a soldier who said he owed his life to the drivers who risked their lives, to save his own.
Parker joked that a new regulation, Military Regulation 103, declares “that any person, private first class, that lives to be 103, automatically outranks an Air Force major general,” he said. “To make it official, I am going to pin you as a 1-star general.”
He asked all veterans present to stand and come to attention as he declared, “Private First Class Pedro Vera, the country salutes you.”
Vera was presented the French Legion of Honor medal by Valérie Baraban, Consul General of France in Houston.
“This prestigious medal is a symbol of France’s gratitude. It pays tribute to Mr. Vera’s service in World War II,” Baraban said.
Baraban recounted the origins of the French Legion of Honor, created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte to reward merits acquired by acts of military or civil bravery. It remains the highest honor presented to French citizens and others whose heroism and service stands out in French history.
“This medal is a token of France’s eternal gratitude for your service and your unwavering commitment to freedom,” Baraban said. “May your legacy and your sacrifice never be forgotten. May your life serve as a lesson for future generations.”
Vera spoke eloquently and honorably in closing the ceremony.
“This is indeed a very great honor. To me, it’s just like a dream,” he said. “I would like to thank all of you here for taking time out of your day for this presentation for a simple San Antonio man.”
He thanked Baraban and the people of France “for bestowing upon me the Legion of Honor, France’s highest honor.”
“In World War II we were young, we were scared, and we didn’t know much about war,” he said. “But we were eager to serve our country in the time of need.”
As a member of “The Greatest Generation,” Vera said it will take a new “greatest generation” to protect and defend the democracy his generation fought so valiantly for.
After his induction at Fort Sam Houston in December 1942, Vera was assigned to Camp Maxey near Paris, Texas, for his role in the military in the Medical Corps Basic Training.
Late in 1943, as part of the 566th Ambulance Company, Vera — assigned as an “ambulance orderly” — and his unit were transferred to New York in preparation for deployment to Europe.
He departed New York with his unit by troop ship on Dec. 12, 1943, enroute to England. Upon arrival in England on Dec. 19, 1943, Vera and his unit were stationed in Oxfordshire, England.
In May 1944, Vera and his unit were moved to a coastal port location in preparation for the invasion of France.
Following the liberation of Paris in 1944, Vera’s unit remained in Paris before returning to combat in the Northern France campaign, The Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes campaign. He continued in combat in the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns before being assigned to the Allied occupation forces in Germany at the end of the war.
He was transferred back to the U.S. in November 1945, leaving Europe Nov. 26, 1945, and arriving in New York Dec. 7, 1945. He received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army at the same place his military career began, Fort Sam Houston, as a private first class, on Dec. 16, 1945.
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