Teen wins honour for WWII hero

A SECOND World War resistance fighter has been made a chevalier of the Legion D’Honneur following a two-year campaign by a student from Gard.

Teenager Nicolas Lenoir was moved to act after Nicolas Vermandel, now 89 and suffering with Alzheimer’s, gave a talk at his school in Aramon, near Avignon.

The youngster told local newspaper La Provence: “When he spoke of his past, his voice caught in his throat. He was even crying.

“He told us about the sadness and anger he felt when the Vichy government, led by Petain, asked France to submit to the German army.”

Shocked to learn that M Vermandel’s bravery had received no formal recognition, he began writing letters and emails to the Elysée Palace, addressed to President François Hollande.

Nicolas’ tenacity was rewarded when a decree last month announced M Vermandel would be honoured. He was decorated yesterday.