France gives Chambersburg WWII veteran its highest honor

Harold Angle with the French Ambassador, Gerard Araud, at the Legion of Honor ceremony in Washington D.C. on Nov. 8, 2018. (Photo: Harold Angle)

(Chambersburg) — Local World War II veteran Harold Angle doesn’t think he did as much in the war as others, but the government of France must see it differently: Angle recently received the Legion of Honor, the highest award France offers. 

Angle, 95, traveled to Washington, D.C. with several family members on Nov. 8 to attend a ceremony at the home of the French ambassador. He was among six WWII veterans to receive the award during the event. 

France issued the award to Angle in recognition of his participation in the liberation of France from the Nazis, according to a letter he received from the French Embassy. 

Angle served with the 28th Infantry Division in France. He survived a bullet that struck his helmet, then a dud grenade very soon after. 

After enlisting in July 1944, he spent that Christmas Eve on a ship in the New York Harbor, then shipped out on Dec. 26. He eventually arrived at a processing center at Le Havre, France, and entered the Battle of the Bulge as a replacement. 

A bullet struck his helmet as he was serving as a scout, out ahead of his platoon in the snow-covered mountains. Angle was lying on his stomach on the ground at the time, trying to stay below the Germans’ line of fire. The bullet whizzed past his right ear, not hitting it but catching on and pulling apart a wool hat he was wearing under the helmet, then lodged between the layers of clothing on his right shoulder. 

The impact of the bullet hitting his helmet knocked him out. 

He awoke to a nearby German throwing a grenade his way. 

“I put my face down in the snow, put my arms around my face, buried my face in the snow and waited for it to hit,” he said. 

“But it was a dud.” 

After the Germans surrendered in May 1945, Angle was sent back to the United States to prepare for deployment to Japan. However, before he left America dropped atomic bombs over the country and the Japanese surrendered. 

Angle takes pride in talking about his experience in the war. Earlier this year, he was among a dozen WWII veterans to participate in a lecture series in England, and he plans to take up an invitation to return in 2019 for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. 

Angle’s story is even featured in the latest installment of a popular video game series, “Call of Duty: World War II.” The company, Activision, interviewed him and other veterans to include within the game.   

“If we don’t talk about (the war), (young people today) are never gonna hear it,” he said. 

Established by Napolean Bouneparte in 1802, the Legion of Honor recognizes those who have provided exemplary service to France, USA TODAY reported. The medal has five levels of honor, listed from lowest to highest: “Knight,” “Officer,” “Commander,” “Grand Officer” and “Grand Cross.”  Angle was honored with the Knight level. 

“They just don’t hand it out to everyone,” Angle said of the award. “The fact that the admiral of the U.S. Navy got it is an indication of how special it is.”

For more details about Angle’s experience in WWII, check out