Norfolk, Va. – A local D-Day veteran has received one of the highest honors given by the French government.
Former Army Lt. Cary Jarvis was decorated as a Knight in the French Legion of Honor.
The 92-year-old received the award at a ceremony held at the Virginia National Guard Readiness Center in Norfolk Sunday.
It’s in recognition of his heroic actions 70 years ago.
Jarvis landed in the first wave when thousands of troops stormed the beaches of Normandy.
He joined the Virginia National Guard in 1939 when he was 17 and served as a field artillery forward observer. It was a job that placed him on the front lines with the infantry.
Jarvis was invited to the French Embassy in Washington to receive the award along with two dozen other World War II vets but could not make it because of health reasons.
His family reached out to the Virginia National Guard to organize Sunday’s presentation in Norfolk instead.
Click through the photo gallery above for pictures from the ceremony.
