Now that’s a special relationship

According to the New York Times:

President François Hollande of France on Monday awarded the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award, to three Americans and a Briton for their role in stopping a gunman on a high-speed train traveling to Paris from Amsterdam on Friday.

The three Americans — Airman First Class Spencer Stone, 23; Alek Skarlatos, 22, a specialist in the Oregon National Guard; and their friend Anthony Sadler, 23 — received the honor in the gilded halls of the Élysée Palace, where they were joined by Chris Norman, 62, a British consultant….

A French citizen who was the first to tackle Mr. Khazzani but who has declined to be identified will receive the honor at a later date, as will Mark Moogalian, 51, a passenger with dual French and American citizenship who struggled with the attacker and is recovering from a bullet wound….

Mr. Norman, speaking in French to reporters after the ceremony, said he felt honored by the distinction. “I did what I had to do,” he said. “It wasn’t heroism, it was what needed to be done in a situation of survival.”

The three Americans did not speak publicly on Monday, but at a news conference on Sunday at the American ambassador’s residence, they brushed aside suggestions that they were heroes.

Right.  They were just there when the wheel went round.  But it did go round and they were there.