Harold Bevan WW2 veteran receives New Zealand Operational Service Medal and New Zealand Defense Service Medal. Photo / Doug Sherring
Harold Bevan WW2 veteran receives New Zealand Operational Service Medal and New Zealand Defense Service Medal. Photo / Doug Sherring
A 97-year-old New Zealander is one of several Kiwi veterans being honoured tonight for their roles in "the liberation of France" in World War II.
Harold Beven was a chief petty officer for the British Royal Navy when he made 13 trips to the shore during the Normandy Landings on June 6, 1944.
Beven had to run back and forth on the beach checking guns as gunfire and bombs went off all around him.
He is among other war veterans receiving medals at the special ceremony at the Auckland Art Gallery nearly 70 years after their heroic efforts.
Frank Sanft, John Macvicar and Beven received the Legion of Honour, France's highest order of merit, as a recognition of their role during World War II. At the ceremony, Beven also received medals from the New Zealand Navy for his service. He received the Legion of Honour on July 13.
The Légion d'honneur was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 to reward both military and civilian distinguished services to the nation.
Macvicar served on the HMS Scylla, the flagship for the D-Day landing, while Sanft, a crew member of the HMS Holdfast, was involved in covering the beachheads of Normandy and the landing at Urville-Nacqueville during the D-Day landing.
"For your bravery and your outstanding accomplishments during the Second World War, the French Republic is proud to honour you with its most distinguished recognition," French Ambassador Florence Jeanblanc-Risler said.
"This medal recognises your courage and unfaltering commitment at a time of great peril," Ambassador Florence Jeanblanc-Risler told the veterans.
Witi Ihimaera receives Arts et Lettres medal. Photo / Doug Sherring
The ceremony also honoured Whale Rider writer Witi Ihimaera with the Order of Arts and Letters, an award set up to recognise significant contributions to the development of arts, music and literature.
The honour, primarily conferred on French nationals, is also awarded each year to a group of international personalities who have contributed significantly to French culture or whose accomplishments have received international recognition. In New Zealand, writer Dame Fiona Kidman, filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson and visual artist Fiona Pardington have been among the past recipients.
Jeanblanc-Risler called Ihimaera a "trailblazer in Maori literature and screenwriting".
"Journalist, diplomat, producer, editor, academic; you've had many lives, but storytelling has always been at the core of what you do.
"Your works and reflections have made a key contribution to indigenous worldviews, enabling Maori culture, customs and legacy to be discovered and enjoyed by thousands in New Zealand and overseas. Several of your books have been translated into French."
