Mt. Prospect World War II vet honored with French award
A Mount Prospect resident who fought in World War II received the French government's highest honor Monday for people who aren't French, joining a distinguished list that includes generals Dwight D. Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur.
Jack Bornhoeft, 93, who flew a B-26 Marauder twin engine bomber over France during the war, said even though the French Legion of Honour comes in his name, the distinction is also for his five crew members who are no longer around.
"We each knew what we had to do together as a team," said Bornhoeft, who was the oldest crew member at age 20 when he was introduced to the others in 1944 during training in Louisiana.
Bornhoeft, a retired major who was the crew pilot, made a habit of calling each crew member every year on Christmas, until the last one died last year.
"They became my friends," he said, coming to tears during a ceremony Monday afternoon at Mount Prospect village hall.
Thousands have received the award, recognizing foreigners who have served France or the ideals it upholds, since it was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.
More and more World War II veterans have been receiving the honor since 2004, when France started to make a special effort to seek out veterans of the Allied powers who served on French soil during the war.
Last year, 120 people received the award in the 13 Midwestern states covered by the Consulate General of France in Chicago. Some 25 ceremonies were held, often honoring more than one person.
"American soldiers restored freedom to my country, France," said Vincent Floreani, the Consul General of France in Chicago who pinned the medal on Bornhoeft.
"The French people will never forget what the Americans, our steadfast friends, did."
Bornhoeft submitted his service record credentials to the local French consulate general last year; he heard a few months ago that French officials verified his service record and he would receive the award.
Still, he said he was surprised by the big event thrown for him Monday - it was attended by some 100 people, including state and local government officials, fellow veterans in the American Legion and VFW, family, friends and members of his church.
With Bornhoeft at the helm as pilot, the 496th Bomb Squadron of the 344th Bomb Group participated in three major campaigns - Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe - between September 1944 and June 1945.
Bornhoeft completed 45 missions, most lifting off from the Pontoise air base in France.
His mission: bomb behind enemy lines to cut off supplies at strategic points, such as cross roads, rail yards and bridges.
Many missions were dangerous, and his planes were sometimes hit by enemy fire.
"They'd patch 'em up. We had one airplane we called Patches," said Bornhoeft, who added he doesn't watch war movies but has his own recollections of the war.
Bornhoeft and his wife have been married 69 years and spent the last 64 of them in their Mount Prospect house.
One of his daughters, Nancy Laesch, said her dad "lives and dies" for the military and proudly flies the American flag on a flagpole outside his house.
"The military has been something deep in his soul," she said. "He's a proud American."