Maine WW II vets eligible for certificate from France

BANGOR – Sgt. Maj. Paul E. Jordan wanted to fight in Europe so much that he traded in his stripes to be part of the Normandy invasion. The Army private joined a combat infantry unit that fought throughout France in 1944 and ’45.

Now the French government is offering certificates of appreciation to World War II veterans such as Jordan, 89, who were part of the forces that liberated the country from Germany.

Jordan learned of the “Thank-You-America Certificate” from a publication of the Disabled American Veterans. The certificates are being issued through the 10 consuls general of France in the United States with assistance from state Veteran Affairs offices.

“We got a lot of personal thank-yous from the French people after the liberation,” Jordan said Monday, “but it’s nice to have something to hang on the wall to show what we were doing in 1944 and ’45. It’s very gracious of them [the French government].”

The certificate probably will go very nicely with Jordan’s Bronze Star. He was awarded the medal for meritorious service on Feb. 1-2, 1945. According to the citation, signed by Maj. Gen. Norman D. Cota, Jordan led a “mule train whose mission was to carry goods, water and ammunition over six miles of difficult and treacherous terrain to a friendly battalion that had been temporarily cut off from supply.”

Jordan, who had joined the Army in 1933 after graduating from Bangor High School, was selected for the mission because he had worked as a mule skinner or handler while stationed in Panama. When asked by his commanding officer in 1945 if he spoke the native language, Jordan replied in French, “I studied French at Bangor High School with Madame Beaupre.”

The retreating Germans had abandoned a regiment of their troops, Jordan explained Monday. They had surrounded the 3rd Battalion headquarters, located in Colmar, a town on the western border in the Vosges Mountains, and cut off supplies to the Americans there.

“Once we got the mules loaded up with supplies, we set out,” he said. “We had to go across some open terrain and the officer in charge was hit by the small arms fire we were getting. Once we got into the woods we were pretty safe. I was born and raised in the Maine woods hunting and trapping, so it was familiar to me.”

Jordan led the 20 mules and “Moroccan mountaineers” through the mountains following the route of the communications wire. When darkness made it impossible to follow the wire, he used his compass, according to his Bronze Star citation. Jordan and his mule train encountered enemy artillery and mortar fire before they reached their destination and successfully completed their mission.

Jordan is one of at least a dozen veterans living in Maine who have applied for the certificate, according to the DAV office in Augusta. Living veterans who served on French territory and in French territorial waters and airspace in 1944-1945 are eligible to apply for the certificate.

Veterans must fill out the official application, and show proof of service between June 6, 1944, and May 8, 1945. Veterans are asked to send copies of their service records and the completed application to the DAV at Togus in Augusta or the French Consulate in Boston.

More information is available on a Web site at www.info-france-usa.org or call the DAV at 623-5725.