In late January, France awarded its highest decoration -- the Legion of Honor – to a Georgia veteran who helped storm Omaha Beach in Normandy, France in 1944.

It was an allied forces victory that led to that country’s liberation from German forces.

Gene Lambert of Dawsonville joined six other World War II veterans who accepted the award at the Georgia state capitol in Atlanta from the French Ambassador to the United States.

Rickey Bevington visited Lambert at his Dawsonville home to hear him recount his part in the D-Day invasion.

You can hear more Georgia World War II veterans recount their experiences of the war – of Europe, the Pacific, North Africa, and here in America – from GPB’s World War II Oral History Project at gpb.org/wwii.

Tags: WWII, Rickey Bevington, France, All Things Considered, Dawsonville, gene lambert, Omaha Beach, Legion of Honor, medal, hero, Normandy