THE PRESIDENT of the United States of America, authorized by Executive Order, July 6, 1945, has awarded the Medal of Freedom with Bronze Palm, to Mademoiselle Genevieve de Galard-Terraube, French Airborne Nurse, for meritorious service.
MEDAL OF FREEDOM (WITH BRONZE PALM)
Mademoiselle Genevieve de Galard-Terraube, French Airborne Nurse, by her ministrations to the sick and wounded at Dien Bien Phu, inspired and heartened the entire free world. Her service to her comrades, marked by the courage of a woman in battle and by the devotion of a nurse to her sworn duty, has been unsurpassed in this century. Her supreme fortitude in hours of peril, her unfaltering dedication to her mission reflected the greatness of spirit manifested on many fields, in many centuries, by the soldiers of France.
The Republic she serves so nobly has been an ally of the United States for 178 years. The continuing friendship between the peoples of the two Republics is symbolized today in their joined salute to Mademoiselle de Galard-Terraube. Her service at Dien Bien Phu reflects great credit upon herself and her country and the cause of freedom around the world.
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
Go here to read about her. She married in 1956 and she and her soldier husband had three kids. She refused all offers to cash in from her fame. She was bemused by the acclaim she received, noting that she had only done her duty. She was, it almost goes without saying, a staunch Catholic.
The battle of Dien Bien Phu where the Viet Cong were victorious against the French hasn’t been noted in a long time. It was a warning or a portent for US entering a war with the Viet Cong. Ngyuen Kao Ky’s in laws lived across from my parents. I was a kid but remember the security entourage when the General and Mrs came to visit her sister. I was hoping to see him wearing the famous pearl handled pistols.
[…] A Catholic StylistThe Case of Bishop Stowe – Jayd Hendricks at The Catholic World ReportThe Angel of Dien Bien Phu – Donald R. McClarey, Esq., at The American CatholicFatima’s ‘Miracle of the Sun’ […]
The executive order can not be from 1945. Dien Bien Phu occurred in 1954
The Medal of Freedom was first authorized to be awarded to civilians by an Executive Order signed by President Harry Truman on July 6, 1945.