Jacks, Tony (French Citation Award – 22 July 2014)
One of Thorp’s very own, Tony Jacks, was the center of a very significant Award ceremony on Tuesday, July 22, 2014, as the community gathered at the Thorp American Legion Post 118 hall to honor Tony’s acts of valor during World War II, earning him the French Citation Award.
With family and friends from as far away as Illinois in attendance, the ceremony opened with the presentation of the colors as well as an opening prayer by Ed Kosik before Tony’s daughter-in-law JoAnn Jacks welcomed the crowd to the ceremony.
“We’ve heard a lot of stories about World War II, including the story about why we are here today—the reason he is receiving this award,” JoAnn stated. “We will always know this story and it will be passed down to the future generations.”
JoAnn went on to recount the story of Tony Jacks ‘s heroic actions that earned him this recognition of the French Citation Award.
On August 29, 1944, in Lorient, France, Tony Jacks was on night duty to protect his comrades in his unit as they slept in a barn. Jacks decided to set up booby traps using homemade explosives—even using parts of a stove as shrapnel-to secure the area. At 7:45 a.m., Jacks heard one of his explosives go off. Over 80 German soldiers were approaching from three different directions. More of Jack’s traps continued to go off until the enemy finally retreated, having 21 German soldiers dead and zero fatalities from his own unit.
Later in the ceremony, Tony Jacks’ grandson Randy later introduced Congressman Sean Duffy, Representative of Wisconsin’s 7th District, who addressed the crowd.
“Tony has been met with many awards,” Duffy commented. “He was once a common man from a farming community, but he was not common in his service. He did uncommon things that made him a hero. He took it upon himself to protect his unit.”
Congressman Duffy went on to talk about the French Citation Award, explaining that the medal is only given to a very small number of Americans who served on French soil.
“It is only for the most distinguished and extraordinary contributions,” Duffy stated. “[The unit] was attacked by a numerically superior force and because of Tony’s actions, no American lives were lost. He is a hero. And we are a grateful nation, thanking him for his acts of valor.”
Tony Jacks is presented with the French Citation Award from Congressman Sean Duffy.
