B.A. Vet Receives French Legion of Honor Medal
By BOB LEWIS
Contributing Editor
INTERNATIONAL HONOR: World War II veteran Jim Tygart, right, was presented the French Legion of Honor Medal by French Consul Representative Grant Moat before a standing room only crowd at the BA Military History Center.
The new year is getting off to a rousing start for Broken Arrow’s Jim Tygart.
On Jan. 18, the World War II veteran was presented the French Legion of Honor Medal by French Consul Representative Grant Moat before a standing room only crowd at the BA Military History Center.
On March 31, the normally publicity-shy Tygart will again be the center of attention as he celebrates his 100th birthday.
The highest French order of merit, the Legion of Honor was established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte. Originally, it was restricted to French nationals. But recognizing the heroic role of American and British soldiers in liberating France from Nazi Germany, the program was expanded after World War II to include them as well.
With the medal firmly in hand, Tygart now joins an elite group of military honorees that includes Sgt. Alvin York; Gen. Douglas MacArthur; Allied Commander and former President Dwight David Eisenhour; WWII’s most decorated soldier, Audie Murphy; Gen. George S. Patton, and former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell.
Tygart, who is also a Purple Heart recipient, was a truck driver for NABISCO in Tulsa before joining the military. Because of this experience, he was made a jeep driver with the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division.
He watched the beginnings of the June 6, 1944 Normandy Invasion from a military ship before coming ashore in the face of heavy fire the following day. He served in a number of European locations during the next few months before being wounded in a shell attack during the Battle of the Bulge. He spent that Christmas in a Paris hospital before being shipped home.
Tygart’s sons, Jim and Delbert Tygart, say their dad is an unusually modest man who simply refuses to talk about his military experiences. That changed, however, when he agreed to be interviewed by the Tulsa World’s Tim Stanley as part of a series of articles the reporter was writing on Oklahoma veterans.
Once published, that story caught the eye of personnel at a military museum in Enid. They were so impressed, they nominated Tygart for the Legion of Honor Medal and had every intention of hosting its presentation ceremonies.
Mother Nature, however, had other ideas. Severe weather forced a postponement in the festivities which led to a relocation to Broken Arrow.
