French honor U.S. Air Force senior leaders

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Mark Diamond
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFPN) --  Two Air Force senior officers were inducted recently into the French Legion d'Honneur, their highest award given for outstanding service to France.

Gen. John P. Jumper, Air Force chief of staff, and Gen. John W. Handy, commander of U.S. Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command, were presented the awards during a ceremony recently in Washington.

General Jumper was awarded the insignia of "grand officer," while General Handy was awarded the insignia of "officer." The legion consists of five insignias, or classes, including grand cross, grand officer, commander, officer and chevalier (also known as "knight").

Since the legion was introduced by Napoleon Bonaparte in the early-1800s, fewer than 60 Americans have received the honor, including Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, inventors Thomas A. Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, Army Generals Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell, and astronaut Neil Armstrong. (Courtesy of AMC News Service)