World War II veterans honored by French consul
Their clothing was nondescript. No awards pinned to their shirts and no garrison caps worn on their heads.
None of the more than 50 people in attendance might have known they were standing among greatness, if not for receiving an invitation to the Batesville Community Center and Aquatics Park, where Roy Rogers 0f Bradley, Ark.: William “Bill” Strauss of Salem, Ark.; and Olan Wages of Jacksonville, Ark., were being honored with the French Legion of Honor.
The awards were presented by Beatrice Moore, consulate of France for Arkansas.
“You care more for your country than for yourself,” Batesville Mayor Rick Elumbaugh told the three men—now in their 90s— who traveled from other parts of the state to attend. “Today, we remember what you gave and what you would still give if you could.”
The recent event marked perhaps the first time that such a ceremony has been held in another city other than Little Rock. Moore, who lives in Batesville, selected the town to hold this year’s ceremony to showcase the city and its new community center.
Established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, the French Legion of Honor is the highest award given by the French government and recognizes exemplary service to France. The majority of Americans who have received the award are veterans who helped liberate France during World War II. With the award, they become Knights of the Legion d’Honneur, said Moore.
“Freedom doesn’t come free. … It comes with determination and sacrifices. You were just kids when you came to France,” Moore said, noting her father was only 10 during World War II.
“You will be our heroes forever and in our hearts and prayers forever. France is a free country and it is thanks to you and your bravery …”
The award, she said, is one given with the “deepest gratitude” and was presented following an invocation by the Rev. Justin Ledbetter and national anthem sung by Sara Moore.
The liberation of continental France began on D-Day, June 6, 1944, with the invasion of Normandy, the amphibious assault aimed at establishing a bridgehead for the forces of operation Overlord. At first hampered by very stiff German resistance and the bocage terrain of Normandy, the Allies broke out of Normandy at Avranches, July 25–31, 1944.
Combined with the landings in Provence of Operation Dragoon on Aug. 14, 1944, the threat of being caught in a pincer movement led to a rapid German retreat. By September 1944, most of France had been liberated.
World War I may have been termed “the great war,” but attorney Scott Lancaster, who also spoke, said he believes that WWII was one in which the fate of this world hung in the balance as a result of radical views, one man, Adolf Hitler, and his followers.
Lancaster cited Matthew 5:9, saying “blessed are the peacemakers” and peacekeepers—“but, I’m very thankful for the ass kickers,” he said, hoping those in attendance would not to be too ashamed by his words.
He then turned his attention back to Rogers, Strauss and Wages.
“You hit evil on the head and kicked its ass and I thank you for that,” he said as the room erupted in applause. “You are not just leaving here with a much deserved medal of honor, but our heartfelt gratitude and eternal thanks.”
After Moore pinned medals on each of the men, Lancaster shared with the audience a little about each’s man and his service.
Roy Rogers of Bradley
Roy Rogers was born Oct. 28, 1923, in Stephens, Ark., the oldest of seven children, three boys and four girls.
He enlisted in the Army on March 4, 1943, and was a technician fifth grade and served in the 514th Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Army. He left New York Harbor in September 1944 for Scotland. He then landed in Utah Beach, France and spent two months requipping and waiting for guns to arrive. He then began his journey to the front and later transferred from the 1st to the 3rd Army. With his bazillion, he help Gen. Patton’s army in the Bulge.
Before crossing the Rhine, he was attached to the 13th Field Artillery and helped the French clean out the Gironde Estuary near Bordeaux.
He was awarded the American Theater Ribbon, European African Middle Eastern theater campaign ribbon with four Bronze stars, Good Conduct Medal and Victory Ribbon.
After the war, Rogers received an associate of arts degree from Magnolia College. In 1953, he and his brother-in-law bought the Magnolia Petroleum bulk plant at Bradley, Ark.
They built a Magnolia Petroleum Service station and bought a propane company. With his wife Dianne, he had five children, 18 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren.
William “Bill” Strauss of Salem
William “Bill” Strauss was born Oct. 27, 1919, in Chicago. Drafted into the U.S. Army in January 1942, he joined up with the 9th Armored Division.
In August 1944, he sailed on the Queen Mary to Scotland and on Feb. 27, 1945, he and his division pushed their way across the Rhine Plain where they fought violent resistance from German troops. His division seized the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen and became the first allied forces to cross the Rhine River.
Strauss was also in the Battle of the Bulge and for his service was awarded the European African Middle Eastern theater campaign ribbon with three Bronze stars, Good Conduct Medal, Union Badge, two overseas service bars and one service stripe.
It was not until his discharge in September 1946 that Bill traveled to Oklahoma City to finally meet Betty, to whom he had written so many letters; they were married a month later. They have one son and two daughters. In 1995, the couple retired to Salem, Ark., and in December 2004, he was one of 15 veterans that then-Gov. Mike Huckabee honored for the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.
Olan Wages of Jacksonville
Olan Wages was born Feb. 14, 1923, in Thornton, Ark. He enlisted in the Army in March 1943 and on June 18 of that year he was assigned to the 113th Calvary Reconnaissance Squadron which took him to Utah Beach, 12 days into the Normandy invasion.
After a month of intense fighting he was seriously wounded from bomb fragments and earned his first Purple Heart.
He was then assigned to the 4th Calvary Reconnaissance Squadron which later led to his engagement to fight in the Battle of the Bulge, known as the bloodiest battle for U.S. forces in the war. He was transferred to the Guardhouse Overhead Detachment in France and discharged from the Army in December 1945.
He married Ilene O’Mary in 1946 and they live in Jacksonville. They have three daughters. Wages retired from the Arkansas Bank Department in 1982.
For his service and in addition to his two Purple Hearts, he received the European African Middle Eastern theater campaign ribbon with three Bronze stars, the Good Conduct Medal and Victory Ribbon. France honored him in 2001 with the French Jubilee of Liberty Medal and certificate. Following the presentation, attendees had a chance to personally thank Rogers, Strauss and Wages, who throughout the ceremony appeared visually touched by the words told to them—at times, dabbing their eyes with tissues.
As those in attendance walked single file to meet the men where they sat, shake their hands, give them hugs and thank them for their service, others like Joshua Whitmore were there because the men were more than soldiers who fought—they were family.
Dressed in a Boy Scout uniform, Whitmore of Little Rock, hugged and told his great-grandfather, Olan Wages, how proud he was of him, as other family members captured the moment by taking pictures.
“It’s a really great thing,” the teen later said of getting to witness the event.
For Wages, Rogers and Strauss, time may have aged the body, making it a little harder to stand or walk without the aid of a cane, but they forever will remain the boys of freedom. The peacemakers. The “ass-kickers” of what is known as the greatest generation.
And, the medals seemed to mean just as much to them as it did to those who presented them.
“It’s very nice, very, very much,” Strauss, 97, told the Guard afterward.
“I’m speechless,” added 94-year-old Wages. That’s how much it means.”
Rogers, 93, agreed.
“It is great. … We did it (fought) because we had to. … I never dreamed to be here.”