Legion of Honor award underscores this doctor’s bravery and determination

Courageous acts can become obscured with time. Not so for doctor and World War II veteran Harry Messmore. The French government just presented him with its top award, the Legion of Honor, for bravery he showed in battle.

“I suppose it’s something to be proud of to receive an award that dates back to Napoleon,” he said in a Chicago Tribune article.

But that’s not the only thing that makes Messmore remarkable. The story continues: “Sitting at a conference table in the library of the Loyola University Medical Center recently, recalling stories not only from the war but from his long career in medicine and medical research, it was readily apparent that there is still a lot of that young second lieutenant in this 87-year-old man.

“When his own personal fog — a combination of macular degeneration and glaucoma -- rolled in five years ago, no one would have blamed Messmore for giving up. Already retired, he was still volunteering his medical expertise diagnosing difficult cases at Hines Veteran’s Administration Hospital. Everyone would have understood if he politely told them he could no longer work.”

Read the full story about Messmore’s determination and the contributions he has made -- and continues to make -- in the medical field.