Sixty years after local D-Day veteran Cliff Chadderton helped to liberate France from the Nazis, France is now awarding him one of its highest honours. The War Amps CEO and chairman of the National Council of Veteran Associations was recently named a Knight in the Order of the Legion of Honour.

Created in 1802 by Napoleon, the medal is the highest award given for outstanding service to France.

"In presenting you with this high distinction, the French government wants to honour you for your ongoing commitment, at a very high cost, during the Normandy landing which resulted finally in the liberation of France," Philippe Guelluy, France's ambassador to Canada wrote Chadderton in a letter.

Among the first to land on Juno Beach June 6, 1944, Chadderton later took a bullet in the hand at the Abbaye d'Ardenne in Normandy and lost his right leg below the knee as a result of a grenade attack near the Leopold Canal.

But he believes the citation relates to when he and his Royal Winnipeg Rifles company captured Cap Gris-Nez, home to a German heavy artillery outpost, on Sept. 25, 1944.

Chadderton said he and two soldiers were sent on a reconnaissance mission to devise how to best get the troops through the back way.

He scribbled out a plan and brought it to the general -- a sketch that remains in the National Archives until today.

"They were very pleased because these large guns ... can swivel around and fire 20 miles inland on the French farm houses so we put a stop to that by capturing them," he said. "I understand that's what the citation will say so that's why I'm very proud of it."

A ceremony will be held on May 27 at the French Embassy in Ottawa but Chadderton will not be able to attend.