The French have a word for it...

...héros.

That's what they're calling the seven surviving American pilots who participated in an airlift for the embattled French troops at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The pilots, flying under a CIA contract, have been largely disowned by the US government, which has used the CIA 'contractor' subtefuge to deny them pension and other benefits, but the French haven't forgotten their heroism. They will be awarded the Chevalier de la Lagion d'Honneur, the highest French award for service.

The pilots haven't forgotten the heroism of the French troops, either. One of the survivors, Allen L. Pope, remembers...

"They never raised the white flag. There were men without hands, men without legs, men without feet, men that were blinded. They were catching hell."

Remember that the next time you hear a chickenhawk say 'France' with a sneer...