France Rewards

From the BBC:

"France train shooting: Hollande awards Legion d'honneur"

 

Three Americans and a Briton who foiled a suspected terror attack on a train have received France's top honour from President Francois Hollande. Mr Hollande presented Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler and Briton Chris Norman with the Legion d'honneur at the Elysee Palace. Two other unnamed passengers will receive the honour at a later date. The passengers overpowered a suspected radical Islamist on a high-speed train bound for Paris on Friday.  French authorities are questioning the suspect, 25-year-old Moroccan Ayoub El-Khazzani.  Mr Hollande pinned medals on the chests of the four passengers at a ceremony in Paris on Monday morning. "We are here to honour four men who, thanks to their bravery, managed to save lives," he said. "In the name of France, I would like to thank you. The whole world admires your bravery. It should be an example to all of us and inspire us. You put your lives at risk in order to defend freedom."  Mr Hollande said: "A terrorist decided to commit an attack. He had enough weapons and ammunition to carry out real carnage, and that's what he would have done if you hadn't tackled him at a risk to your own lives. "You gave us a lesson in courage, in will, and thus in hope." He added: "Faced with the evil called terrorism there is a good, that is humanity. You are the incarnation of that."  This was France's formal thank you to the men who set such an extraordinary example by their courage on Friday's train. The government here is making a big deal of the four heroes (plus their anonymous French helper) - and for good reason. If the jihadist threat is to remain with us - and nothing suggests that it will stop - the behaviour of individuals towards the imminence of violence could become a crucial factor. If more people are willing to risk their lives by standing up to fight, then that will shift the psychological battle in favour of our societies. Governments know this - so do all they can to honour the people who make a stand

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and the US Ambassador to France, Jane Hartley, attended the ceremony, along with the head of the French rail firm, SNCF. The Legion d'honneur was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802. The award is divided into five categories and the passengers are receiving the chevalier, the most commonly awarded.  A French-American passenger who was wounded in the attack, and a French citizen who first encountered the gunman and tried to overpower him, will receive the honour later. Mr Hollande named the French-American as 51-year-old Mark Moogalian, who is still in hospital. The other man wishes to remain anonymous. The president said he wished to pay tribute to both of them for their bravery.

 

 

^ It's important to honor ordinary people who take action and protect others. Even if they were soldiers they weren't on duty and could have just saved themselves. It's also important to note that this isn't the first time in recent years that transportation (especially trains) have been targeted in Europe by terrorists. France, Germany and the UK have large Muslim populations and while the majority of them are innocent there is a growing trend for them to join IS with the belief that they will be trained and then come "home" to commit terrorist acts. I know many people say that there's no way to check people getting onto trains, buses, trams, etc - - that it would inconvenience many people everyday, but at least they would be alive. ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34037580