Curcio to DC for French Honors
by Barbara Mastriania
NORTH BEND – Travel arrangements were made and North Bend resident John Curcio was to be in Washington Wednesday to receive the French Legion of Honor award during a special ceremony scheduled for the French Embassy.
Curcio, 89, was to be driven to Washington by nephew Roy Cowfer of Renovo and accompanied by a niece, Kathy Harmon of Haneyville. The trip was financed by Sudsy Pup of Renovo and the American Legion and the VFW of Renovo, Dave Bower and Cowfer of Renovo and the VFW Benefits Center.
Cowfer, of the VFW Benefits Center in Lock Haven, said he decided to take Curcio to D.C. after reading in The Record last week that Curcio wasn’t going to attempt the drive for health reasons.
“I saw it in the paper and I told him he was going,” Cowfer said Tuesday afternoon.
Created to honor extraordinary contributions to the country, the Legion of Honor is France’s highest distinction.
The award was to be presented to Curcio in the name of the President of the French Republic as a sign of France’s gratitude for his personal contribution to the liberation of France during World War II.
Curcio was informed he was to receive the honor three weeks ago in a letter signed by Olivier Serot Almeras, Consul General of France.
Curcio is a member of the 8th Air Force Historical Society. He said he was told some months ago that he might be eligible for recognition. He said he filled out a paper he was given and submitted it.
He served in World War Two with a ten member bomber crew and flew 35 missions. He and
one other 90 year-old veteran are the lone survivors of the crew.
Curcio flew missions to north and south France, the Battle of the Bulge in Ardenes, Rhineland, Germany, and Normandy. He also remembers that after “every mission we had holes in the plane.”
He enlisted in the army when he turned 18 and served two years during WWII before eturning home. He notes that this area lost 55 men and one woman in WWII.
He said he was surprised and is proud of the honor. “I had no idea the French remembered WWII Veterans,” he said during an interview last week.
The award is presented to US veterans who risked their life during World War II to fight on French territory. Those selected for this award of distinction are appointed to the rank of Knight of the Legion of Honor.
The award was created to honor extraordinary contributions to the country. To be eligible to receive this outstanding award, the veteran has to fit strict criteria including that the veteran must have fought in at least one of the three main campaigns of the Liberation of France: Normandy,
Provence/Southern France or Northern France. Curcio flew missions over Normandy, Northern France and Southern France.
