France Presents Legion of Merit to Boston WWII Veteran

Boston WWII veteran to receive France’s highest honor
Boston Globe
By Kiera Blessing
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
OCTOBER 10, 2014

David Charter is pictured (right) in this undated photo.

A 90-year-old World War II veteran from Boston is to be named a Knight of the French Legion of Honor, the highest distinction in France, on Thursday.

David Charter, born and raised in Dorchester, enlisted in the US Army Air Forces at 18 and flew 43 missions, fighting in infamous battles like D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge.

“I was always frightened,” Charter said of his time at war. But “it was a job that had to be done, and I did it. ... France understood what we had to go through.”

The Legion of Honor, established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, was opened to US military veterans 10 years ago, on the 60th anniversary of D-Day. Charter is one of hundreds of veterans in New England to have received the honor since, and one of about 100 from Boston, said Timothy Deer, assistant to the consul general at the French consulate in Boston.
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