Boerne’s Veterans Plaza was the setting for a truly remarkable event Wednesday afternoon when World War II Army veteran Pedro Vera was awarded the French Legion of Honor for his service in the nation’s liberation from German occupation.
The Legion of Honor is the highest recognition France bestows upon Americans who served in WWII. It is also the country’s oldest such recognition having been instituted by Napoleon Bonapart in 1802.
Vera, who is 103 years old, was part of the Allied forces that crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. The Allied invasion at Normandy was the largest seaborn invasion in history and marked the start of Western Europe’s liberation from Nazi control.
Wednesday’s ceremony was the culmination of several months of effort from Vera’s nephew and Tracy Huff, a Boerne man who has dedicated much of his time and energy to serving veterans. He organizes regular honor flights for San Antonio-area veterans to visit war memorials in Washington D.C., as well as trips to France and Belgium.
Huff recently met Vera at a veterans breakfast gathering, where he saw Vera sitting separately from the group. He quickly learned about Vera’s time in France during the war and worked with Vera’s nephew and other family members to apply for the Legion of Honor recognition.
The Consul General of France in Houston Valerie Baraban offered remarks thanking Vera for his service to her country and bestowed the medal for the Legion of Honor.
The recognition ceremony included an invocation by Chaplain Christopher Dion and remarks by retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert Parker. A separate congressional recognition was presented to Vera by staff from Rep. Henry Cuellar’s office.
Vera’s Time in France
Serving as an ambulance driver, Vera transported injured soldiers from the beach at Normandy to a nearby hospital for treatment. After Normandy, Vera’s unit remained in France for a stint in Paris following its liberation before returning to combat in northern France. He was present with his unit at the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes campaign – the last major German offensive campaign on the western front.
Vera’s unit saw more combat in the Rhineland and central Europe before being assigned to the Allied occupation forces in Germany at the end of the war in Europe.
“I try to remember some of the things, but they are not good things. A lot of pain and suffering, a lot of people dying,” Vera said. “I just want people to realize war is ugly. I hope there are no more wars and people can resolve their differences peacefully.”
Throughout his time serving in combat, Vera routinely performed his ambulance duties at or near the front lines. In one particularly harrowing experience, he recalls driving an ambulance on a road with American forces on side engaging with Germans on the other side.
At other times, it was too dark to see while he was driving because he couldn’t turn the ambulance lights on. However, when there was fighting there was enough light to see.
He returned to the United States at the end of 1945 and was honorably discharged at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio as a private first class. He currently lives in San Antonio.
