He is a war hero and a quite the gentleman. Modest in terms of his qualification to be regarded with the status of a hero, Palmetto resident Lowell D. Chambers was awarded the French Legion of Honor Medal in a Sept. 21 ceremony at the French Consulate in Atlanta.

Chambers was presented the rare honor by French Consul General in Atlanta Phillippe Ardanaz. Chambers was one of only two soldiers in six Southern states to receive the honor.

“This award testifies to the President of the French Republic’s high esteem for your merits and accomplishments,” said French Ambassador to the United States Jean-David Levitte in a July 25 letter. “In particular, it is a sign of France’s true and unforgettable gratitude and appreciation for your personal, precious contribution to the United States’ decisive role in the liberation of our country during World War II. The French people will never forget your courage and your devotion to the great cause of freedom.”

The Legion of Honor was created by Napoleon in 1802 to acknowledge services rendered to France by persons of great merit. It bestows the title of Chevalier on its recipients.

A truly modest man, Chambers did not see himself in the stratosphere of acknowledgment with the likes of other Legion of Honor inductees such as Alvin York, Omar Bradley and Audie Murphy. It is likely that the French government would disagree.

“Getting a medal surprised me. At first, I didn’t know it was such an honor. I expected to get a small certificate,” the good-natured Chambers said Thursday. “I don’t know how I got nominated. I didn’t do any more than anyone else over there. I just plugged along with the other dog faces.”

Platoon Sgt. Chambers landed on Omaha Beach with his fellow dog faces on July 6, 1944 as a member of C Company, 137th Infantry, in the 35th Division of Patton’s Third Army. He fought his way through France and Belgium. He was wounded three times during his action in the European Theater. He took shrapnel in the hand and back during his first day in France. He was wounded again crossing the Mosel River. He was captured by the Germans in the town of Villiers La Bonne Eau and spent time in a prison camp until the area was liberated by the Russian Army. Once liberated, Chambers and others decided to walk to the American lines, a short journey of 10 miles, or so they thought.

“It turned out to be 125 miles, but we made it in three days and three nights,” Chambers said chuckling.

Chambers helped liberate the French towns of Saint Lo, Nancy and many others. He is open about the experience, though that willingness to speak of it took several years after the war ended, he said. Today, as in past years, Chambers remembers, sometimes almost humorously, some of the events that cast him in the lofty heights of a hero. Eighty-five years young at his home in Palmetto, Chambers spoke with a gleam in his eyes. Inside that gleam is the reality of the events from decades earlier and the appreciation of the honor bestowed on him for his personal contribution in a global war. He may downplay it. And why wouldn’t he? Heros usually do.