Shawnee veteran Bill Casassa receives French Legion of Honor, thanks President Biden for making it possible

A Shawnee, Kansas veteran is now more than just a World War II American hero. He's now a Chevalier (Knight) of the French Legion of Honor.

A Shawnee, Kansas veteran is now more than just a World War II American hero. He’s now a Chevalier (Knight) of the French Legion of Honor.

A former Kansas City Chief helped make possible the honor 80 years in the making. Bill Casassa made the trip with 48 World War II veterans through the Best Defense Foundation. The organization’s name is also a nod to it’s founder, former Chiefs linebacker Donnie Edwards.

It was a trip of a lifetime as Shawnee’s Bill Casassa was sitting on stage with President Joe Biden when he said “they were brave they were resolute and they were ready” about the 133,000 Allied forces who landed on the beaches of Normandy, France.

Biden shook his hand, handed him a challenge coin and told Casassa, “you make me proud to be American,” according to the 98-year-old.

Casassa is still unpacking keepsakes from the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D Day and a few days that followed meeting with French people of all ages.

“Thank you for coming back to us. Sincerely, Alexis,” one card written by a French child said.

You may have seen this moment when French President Emmanuel Macron pinned Casassa and nine other World War II veterans with the National Order of the Legion of Honor. It’s the nation’s highest honor. Casassa says he accepted it on behalf of every American’s efforts to liberate the country from Nazi Germany.

But the memories Casassa is still talking about are those like when French children chanted his and other World War II veterans’ names. One WW II vet danced as they chanted, “Wally, Wally.”

One of two parades he took part in was in a French town of less than 3,000. But more than 40,000 thousand are said to have come out to say “merci.”

“It’s thrilling everybody wants to touch you. Everyone wants to pat you on the head. Everyone wants to kiss you, it’s just wonderful. I must have made 1,000 fist bumps going through the crowd,” he said.

Casassa and the rest of the World War II veterans who received a hero’s welcome made the trip with the Best Defense Foundation, which has helped more than 350 veterans return to their battlefields.

“After playing football for 30 years of my life, this is my new team,” Edwards said.

For Casassa, this trip was not so much about seeing the places, but the people, who he’s now confident have for generations passed down the sacrifices of American service members.

“They’re a wonderful people and they haven’t forgotten. That’s the thing I don’t know how many people in America really know about the second World War,” he said.

News source：https://www.kdj.com/cryptocurrencies-news/articles/shawnee-veteran-bill-casassa-receives-french-legion-honor-president-biden.html

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