In a Friday ceremony in the Statehouse Rotunda, Gov. Ted Strickland presented Johnstown resident Don Jakeway with the Knight of the Legion of Honor Medal, the highest recognition presented by the Republic of France, for his heroism in World War II.

Jakeway was among nine Ohioans honored, including Lawrence Bott and Phillip Bradley, both of Bexley.

Jakeway, now 87, was 19 when he enlisted in November 1942 as a sergeant in Company H of the 508th Parachute Infantry of the 82nd Airborne Division. From June 1944 to July 1944, he participated in the Normandy, Northern France and Germany campaigns. He was wounded in France on Sept. 21, 1944 and on Jan. 31, 1945.

He has been recognized by the U.S. government with a Bronze Star Medal, a Purple Heart Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Good Conduct Ribbon, the European, African, Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four Bronze Battle Stars, a Combat Infantryman Badge and the Presidential Unit Citation.

"I fought all the way through Normandy, then jumped into Holland for about 10 days and was wounded there, then went back to my outfit on Dec. 15, 1944, then on Dec. 18, we went into the Battle of the Bulge," he recalled. "On Jan. 31, 1945, I was wounded the second time, and from there on, I was on the way home. I stayed in the hospital from the day I was wounded until Aug. 23, when I received a medical discharge from the Memphis General Hospital."

Jakeway was among only 3,200 paratroopers of 12,000 who came through Normandy without being captured, wounded or killed, and 39 out of his unit of 130. He landed at 20 minutes after 1 a.m. June 6.

"When I hit the ground, I looked at my watch, to know where I was," Jakeway said. "It was dark, not pitch dark, you could actually see. The flak and the anti-aircraft fire was so thick, it lit up everything. I landed in a tree in a churchyard, and I had to cut myself loose to drop to the ground.

"I never found my unit for 10 days," he said. "For a few days, I was by myself, then I ran into some 101st guys, and they were 65 miles from their drop zone. We kept looking and going toward the fighting, and on the 10th day, I got back to my unit.

"We were scattered all over the place. We were everywhere. It was probably the best thing that ever happened for us, because if we had all dropped in one place, there would have been a terrible fight, but since we were scattered everywhere, the Germans didn't know where we were."

Jakeways fortunes failed in September, in Holland, when artillery bombarded a hotel where his unit was staying.

"We were in Holland, in a hotel, and we had some slit trenches and some artillery came in, and we all ran to our slit trenches," Jakeway said. "My buddy Giacommelli jumped in the slit trench and I jumped in on top of him, and the thing exploded and it killed him underneath me. I got wounded in the back and face and head, but I didn't get killed."

In January, in the Ardennes, he was leading a unit to attack an enemy artillery piece when he was shot in the lung.

For about 40 years, Jakeway didn't spent much time recording his experiences, but eventually, because he had more contacts with other veterans, he began to collect his memories and to do some history work of his own, collecting and validating others' stories. He eventually compiled them into a book, "Paratroopers Do or Die," which he completed in 1992 and has been selling off and on since. He estimates he's sold more than 2,400 copies.

"I speak at schools, veterans' groups, home schools, Rotary, Kiwanis," Jakeway said. "I don't advertise, but I get rid of them (the books)."

www.ThisWeekNews.com