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Saturday, April 5, 2014 • 3
The News
VETERANS
France’s highest honor for Soesbee
www.rockdalenews.com/multimedia/archives/390/
By Pete Mecca
[email protected]
The Consul General of France
in Atlanta, Denis Barbet, bestowed the French Legion of
Honor Medal upon eight WWII
veterans on April 3. The veterans accepting France’s highest
honor were no longer young
soldiers. Many relied on wheel
chairs, one survives on oxygen, another just released from
a hospital the day before after
receiving treatment for congestive heart failure. But the years
had not dampened their spirit.
These aging warriors enjoyed
their day.
Fredrick P. Wiley of Social
Circle was one of the recipients. Private First Class Wiley landed D-Day +1 (June
7, 1944) on a still unsecured
Omaha Beach with the 29th
Infantry Division, 175th Infantry Regiment, Company G.
The 29th suffered more casualties on Omaha Beach than any
other American unit. And the
worst was yet to come.
PFC Wiley and the 29th
seized their first objective, the
village of Isigny, before crossing the Vire River into the infamous hedgerow country of
France.
Fighting hedgerow
through hedgerow, the 29th
seized their next objective, the
town of St Lo. Wiley recalled,
“The 29th took more casualties
at St Lo than we did on Omaha
Beach.” One position of high
ground, Hill 108, earned the
nickname ‘Purple Heart’ hill.
Wiley stated, “About two or
three days later an explosion
took me out of the fight, most
likely a rifle grenade.” When
asked if his war was over, he
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Darrell Everidge/The News
The National Order of the Legion of Honor was presented to several Georgia residents at the state capitol Thursday. The Legion of Honor is the highest
honor in France, recognizing eminent services to the French Republic. Among the veterans honored were Vincent W. Masters, William H. Spratling and
Philip Pollock of Athens, Marcie E. Dover of Winder, Clarence Sosebee of Conyers, Johnson W. Brown of Cumming, Emmett Cabe of Lindale and Frederick P. Wiley of Social Circle.
said, “Shoot no, once I recovered they made me an MP and
sent me back to France.”
Clarence “Bud” Sosebee of
Conyers, dressed immaculately
in his WWII uniform, smiled
ear to ear as the Consul General pinned the Legion of Honor
Medal next to his many other
decorations. “I’m still excited
about the recognition,” Sosebee said. “I’ll always remember the French people as being
helpful and kind to me. This is,
indeed, an honor.” A member
of Headquarters Company, 271
Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion, Sosebee saw extensive
combat and met up with the
Russians at the River Elbe.