Word has been received from Paris that Richard Norton '92 has been given the Cross of the Legion of Honor. He is the first American to receive this distinction for services during the war. Norton was one of the organizers of the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps at the outbreak of the war and has built up this branch of service until it now has a record of carrying over 30,000 wounded during the war.
Earlier in the war he received the Croix de Guerre for distinguished bravery and devotion to rescue work during the battle of September 25 and the following days. "He gave proof," said the French Official Journal at that time, "of the greatest devotion and courage by driving his cars himself day and night, through dangerous zones and by giving to all his section an example of endurance carried to the point of complete exhaustion of his strength."
A later army order said: "American Section No. 5 (Norton-Harjes) has made possible during a period of 11 days of fighting, March 8 to 19, with a perfect contempt of danger the removal of wounded in a zone heavily swept by the enemy's artillery fire. Furthermore, the whole staff has shown proof of remarkable devotion and endurance by giving the maximum service of the unit, and by working an average of 19 hours a day."
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