Good Deeds Of Long Ago Not Forgotten
Long life has its rewards, but Cindy Wolcott didn’t know the French Legion of Honor was one of them.
Good deeds apparently don’t vanish over time.
Cindy left Sandpoint last month with her 6-year-old son to watch the acting French consul in Los Angeles pin the red-ribboned Legion of Honor on her grandfather’s lapel.
She wept when her 101-year-old grandfather, Paul Jarrett, stood to accept France’s highest military honor on behalf of all American soldiers who served in France during World War I.
She silently recited with him the speech her husband helped write and soared the next day when the consul told her French President Jacques Chirac wanted a copy.
“My grandfather is absolutely amazing,” Cindy says. “I like that he accepted it for all soldiers.”
Cindy knows her grandfather is a beneficiary of time’s light touch and an all-encompassing gratitude that’s lingered through generations. But she says the villagers of Neuviller les Badonviller in northern France picked a perfect representative.
They discovered Paul in 1988 when Paul’s grandson decided to film a documentary on his grandfather’s war years. Paul already had been part of two other Great War documentaries.
His exclusive story took Paul and his grandson to the little village near the trenches in which Paul had fought with the U.S. Army’s Rainbow Division. The filming tapped the villagers’ curiosity and Paul found himself reliving brutal battles and the poison gassing that put him in a military hospital for seven months.
He remembered serving as judge advocate for his company when villagers had complaints. He remembered the French hospitality.
Villagers remembered the Americans’ role in the liberation of their town. They threw a three-day party for Paul and nominated him for the National Order of the Legion of Honor. Few foreigners receive the prestigious award.
Paul’s slipping health kept him from receiving the award in France last month. But it brought the presentation to Los Angeles where Cindy could afford to fly. She returned home steeped in his humility and graciousness.
“He felt really honored; he’s so unassuming,” she says, her eyes absorbing every detail of a picture of young Paul in his Army uniform. “He’s giving the medal to the town after his death. I like that.”
Art appreciation
The Coeur d’Alene Art Association’s annual wine tasting/ art auction is a great way to show off the group’s talents, have some fun and raise money for scholarships for high school students.
The sale was so popular in previous years that it’s in The Coeur d’Alene Resort’s big bays this year. That means more scholarships. This year’s soiree will run 6-10:30 p.m., Nov. 11, and will cost $5. There will even be a band. Get tickets at the door.
Get to work
The Kootenai County people who let about 150 high school kids stick with them through the work day last Wednesday deserve some thanks. Kids who have to start thinking about what to do with the rest of their lives spent the day with foresters, pilots, teachers, artists, lawyers, etc.
My daughter Megan, who’s 15, hung out with Dr. Lawrence Gibbon in Post Falls and learned that patients often shower their family doctors with goodies.
She ate to her heart’s content, but confessed that the highlights of the day were listening to an in-utero baby’s heart, watching an electrocardiogram and being around people who enjoy their work so much. I suppose now we’re facing medical school tuition. Thanks, Dr. Gibbon …
What experience steered you into your career? Cheer or moan about it to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814; fax to 765-7149; call 765-7128; or e-mail to cynthiat@spokesman.com.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo