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Schaumburg D-Day veteran to be knighted by the French

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Schaumburg D-Day and Battle of the Bulge veteran Jim Butz has been awarded the French Legion of Honor medal. The medal will formally be awarded to him March 1.

Bob Chwedyk | Staff Photographer

Schaumburg D-Day and Battle of the Bulge veteran Jim Butz has been awarded the French Legion of Honor medal. The award, created by Napoleon in 1802, recognizes extraordinary contributions to France.

Bob Chwedyk | Staff Photographer

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Schaumburg D-Day and Battle of the Bulge veteran Jim Butz has been awarded the French Legion of Honor medal. The award, created by Napoleon in 1802, recognizes extraordinary contributions to France.

Bob Chwedyk | Staff Photographer

Schaumburg D-Day and Battle of the Bulge veteran Jim Butz has been awarded the French Legion of Honor medal. The award, created by Napoleon in 1802, recognizes extraordinary contributions to France.

Bob Chwedyk | Staff Photographer

Schaumburg D-Day and Battle of the Bulge veteran Jim Butz has been awarded the French Legion of Honor medal. The award, created by Napoleon in 1802, recognizes extraordinary contributions to France.

Bob Chwedyk | Staff Photographer

Schaumburg D-Day and Battle of the Bulge veteran Jim Butz has been awarded the French Legion of Honor medal. The award, created by Napoleon in 1802, recognizes extraordinary contributions to France.

Bob Chwedyk | Staff Photographer

About this Article

As a skinny little kid during the Great Depression, Jim Butz listened to the distant sound of train whistles and wondered if he’d ever see anything beyond Akron, Ohio. On March 1, the now 88-year-old Schaumburg man will be named a Chevalier, or knight, of the French Legion of Honor at the French consulate in Chicago for the role he played in liberating France in 1944 and '45. “I have just had a marvelous life,” he said.

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