94-year-old Veteran receives prestigious award

LEXINGTON,Ky. (WTVQ) – History came to life today for people in Lexington as Dr. V. Gayle Alexander was honored for his service during World War II. Dr. Alexander, a retired Veterinarian and Lexington native, was presented with the French Legion Medal of Honor as a recognition of his help in liberating France during WWII.

Bernard Marie was appointed by French president Emmanuel Macron to present the award Saturday. He was chosen as the presenter because at age 5, he experienced the war firsthand. Marie was sitting in his basement while the bombings occurred near his home in Normandy. Marie says he is personally thankful for Dr. Alexander’s efforts.

Dr. V. Gayle Alexander piloted the first bomber to fly over France on D-Day. Dr. Alexander says he feels honored to have been chosen to lead what was one of the first large bomb raids in history.

Dr. Alexander says that day was the first day that German jet fighters flew fifty-thousand feet straight up before coming straight back down, taking bombers down with them.

“We lost 67 bombers that day, but the first man to get hit was me,” said Dr. Alexander.

He says his plane caught fire.

“I couldn’t take a breath of air because it would go right in your lungs,” said Dr. Alexander. “I reached up to pull the window back to get the fire to blow away from my face, and the bomber exploded.”

Dr. Alexander’s parachute saved his life. He later returned to fly a second mission, bombing bridges to stop German movement. It is because of his bravery that he has been awarded and knighted with the French Legion Medal of Honor.

This award is only presented to living World War II Veterans that fought on or above the French homeland. The presentation of this award is a rather rare event, as numbers of this generation are depleting.