The 96-year-old veteran was honoured yesterday with the presentation of the French Chevelier level of the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur during a ceremony at the Northumberland Veterans Unit in Pictou.
“It means a lot to me have this medal and I appreciate it,” he said after a presentation by Vincent Hommeril, general consul for France. “It was given to me by another nation with a thank you letter for the small part I played and I appreciate being thanked for it.”
The medal is awarded to “military personnel only who distinguish themselves by acts of heroism involving combat with enemy forces.”
Rushton, who currently lives in Westville, was a part of an elite group known as paratroopers. He began his training in Quebec with 52 fellow enlisted men. By the end of the training process, there were only 11.
On D-Day, his company was tasked with parachuting in advance of the amphibious landings along the beaches of Normandy. Despite precise planning, his company was scattered around the landing points.
His company achieved their goal of destroying bridges to halt German reinforcements heading to stop the Allied invasion.
After regrouping in England he was sent to support American troops beat back by the Nazis in the Battle of the Bulge in Ardennes. It was here he was wounded. He was sent to a hospital in Scotland and was in England when he heard the joyous news of victory on May 8, 1945.
He returned home to Pictou County, but re-enlisted in 1950 when war broke out in Korea.
After the Korean War, he remained in the reserves as a warrant officer and instructor. His love of adventure and travel led him to organize tours of the Normandy cemetery for families who have loved ones buried there.
“It is a great honour to receive this from the French government,” he said following the medal presentation Thursday. “I thank everyone for coming and saying such kind words about me.”
The ceremony was marked with speeches by Pictou East MLA Tim Houston and Veterans Affairs MP Peter Stouffer who also extended congratulations to Rushton on behalf of Central Nova MP Peter MacKay.
Hommeril detailed Rushton’s impressive military career during his remarks and told him that France will forever be indebted to him for his actions during the Second World War.
“Your courage touches me very much,” he said, adding his parents and grandparents told him what it as like to see help coming from the Allies on D-Day. “They told me when they saw the sky filled with thousands of planes, they knew the war was going to end and their freedom was coming very soon.”
Following the official ceremony, Rushton rose to shake the hands of fellow veterans in attendance and enjoyed an afternoon of music by Burns MacDonald.
