Gallery: Heroes awarded France’s highest honor

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  • French President François Hollande stops for a photo with Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone, Aleksander Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler and Jane Hartley, U.S. ambassador to France, after a Legion of Honor ceremony at the Élysée in Paris Aug. 24, 2015. Stone was on vacation with his childhood friends, Aleksander Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, when an armed gunman entered their train carrying an assault rifle, a handgun and a box cutter. The three friends, with the help of a British passenger, subdued the gunman after his rifle jammed. Stone’s medical training prepared him to begin treating wounded passengers while waiting for the authorities to arrive. Stone is an ambulance service technician with the 65th Medical Operations Squadron stationed at Lajes Field, Azores. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
  • French President Francois Hollande (C) poses with (LtoR) British businessman Chris Norman and Anthony Sadler from the US, and off-duty US servicemen Spencer Stone, and Alek Skarlatos during a reception in their honor at the Elysee Palace on August 24, 2015 in Paris, after Hollande awarded them with France’s top Legion d’Honneur medal in recognition of their bravery after they overpowered the train attacker. AFP PHOTO / POOL / MICHEL EULER
  • French President Francois Hollande (2nd L) awards France’s top Legion d’Honneur medal to off-duty US serviceman Spencer Stone (2nd R), while with US serviceman Alek Skarlatos applauds during a reception at the Elysee Palace on August 24, 2015 in Paris, in recognition of their bravery, after they overpowered the Moroccan gunman in the train attack on August 21. AFP PHOTO / POOL / MICHEL EULER
  • (LtoR) French President Francois Hollande shakes hands with off-duty US serviceman Spencer Stone (C), next to off-duty serviceman Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler (R) and US ambassador to France Jane Hartley after a reception at the Elysee Palace in Paris on August 24, 2015, during which they have been awarded with France’s top Legion d’Honneur medal in recognition of their bravery after they overpowered the train attacker. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images)
  • Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone was awarded the Legion of Honor at a ceremony at the Élysée in Paris Aug. 24, 2015. Stone was on vacation with his childhood friends, Aleksander Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, when an armed gunman entered their train carrying an assault rifle, a handgun and a box cutter. The three friends, with the help of a British passenger, subdued the gunman after his rifle jammed. Stone’s medical training prepared him to begin treating wounded passengers while waiting for the authorities to arrive. Stone is an ambulatnce service technician with the 65th Medical Operations Squadron stationed at Lajes Field, Azores. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
  • France’s top Legion d’Honneur medals that have been awarded to (top, LtoR) off-duty US servicemen Aleksander Skarlatos and Spencer Stone, Antony Sadler and British business consultant Chris Norman in recognition of their bravery, after they overpowered the Moroccan gunman in the train attack on August 21, are on display on a cushion during a reception at the Elysee Palace on August 24, 2015 in Paris. AFP PHOTO / POOL / CATHERINE GASCHKA
  • In this August 24, 2015 US Air Force handout photo, Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone poses with Chris Norman, fellow train passenger, during a reception after French President Francois Hollande awarded them with France’s top Legion d’Honneur medal at the at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Stone was on vacation with his childhood friends, Aleksander Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, when an armed gunman entered their train carrying an assault rifle, a handgun and a box cutter. The three friends, with the help of Norman, subdued the gunman after his rifle jammed. Stone’s medical training prepared him to begin treating wounded passengers while waiting for the authorities to arrive. Stone is an ambulance service technician with the 65th Medical Operations Squadron stationed at Lajes Field, Azores. AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / US AIR FORCE / TECH SGT. RYAN CRANE == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE / MANDATORY CREDIT: “AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / US AIR FORCE / TECH SGT.RYAN CRANE”/ NO MARKETING / NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS / DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS ==
  • Off-duty US servicemen Alek Skarlatos (L) and Spencer Stone leave after a reception at the Elysee Palace in Paris on August 24, 2015, during which they have been awarded with France’s top Legion d’Honneur medal by the French president in recognition of their bravery after they overpowered the train attacker. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images)
  • U.S. Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone speaks with Jane Hartley, the U.S. ambassador to France after a Legion of Honor ceremony in Paris Aug. 24, 2015, following a foiled attack on a French train. Stone was on vacation with his childhood friends, Aleksander Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, when an armed gunman entered their train carrying an assault rifle, a handgun and a box cutter. The three friends, with the help of a British passenger, subdued the gunman after his rifle jammed. Stone’s medical training prepared him to begin treating wounded passengers while waiting for the authorities to arrive. Stone is an ambulance service technician with the 65th Medical Operations Squadron stationed at Lajes Field, Azores. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
  • U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone meets Chief Master Sgt. Phillip Easton, 86th Airlift Wing command chief, upon his arrival to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Aug. 24. 2015. Stone, along with childhood friends Aleksander Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, was recently honored by French President François Hollande with the French Legion of Honour for subduing an armed gunman when he entered their train carrying an assault rifle, a handgun and a box cutter. Stone is an ambulance service technician with the 65th Medical Operations Squadron stationed at Lajes Field, Azores. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Staff Sgt. Sara Keller)
  • Oregon National Guardsman Aleksander Skarlatos meets Brig. Gen. Jon T. Thomas, 86th Airlift Wing commander, as he arrives at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Aug. 24. 2015. Skarlatos, along with childhood friends Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone and Anthony Sadler, was recently honored by French President François Hollande with the French Legion of Honour for subduing an armed gunman when he entered their train carrying an assault rifle, a handgun and a box cutter. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt. Sara Keller)
  • (Right to left) Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone, Aleksander Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler pose for a photo in Paris Aug. 23, 2015, following a foiled attack on a French train. Stone was on vacation with his childhood friends, Aleksander Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, when an armed gunman entered their train carrying an assault rifle, a handgun and a box cutter. The three friends, with the help of a British passenger, subdued the gunman after his rifle jammed. Stone’s medical background prepared him to begin treating wounded passengers while waiting for the authorities to arrive. Stone is an ambulance service technician with the 65th Medical Operations Squadron stationed at Lajes Field, Azores. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
  • U.S. Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone hugs his mother for the first time in Paris Aug. 24, 2015, following a foiled attack on a French train. Stone was on vacation with his childhood friends, Aleksander Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, when an armed gunman entered their train carrying an assault rifle, a handgun and a box cutter. The three friends, with the help of a British passenger, subdued the gunman after his rifle jammed. Stone’s medical training prepared him to begin treating wounded passengers while waiting for the authorities to arrive. Stone is an ambulance service technician with the 65th Medical Operations Squadron stationed at Lajes Field, Azores. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
  • Anthony Sadler greets his family after a Legion of Honour ceremony at the Élysée in Paris Aug. 24, 2015, following a foiled attack on a French train. Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone was on vacation with his childhood friends, Aleksander Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, when an armed gunman entered their train carrying an assault rifle, a handgun and a box cutter. The three friends, with the help of a British passenger, subdued the gunman after his rifle jammed. Stone’s medical training prepared him to begin treating wounded passengers while waiting for the authorities to arrive. Stone is an ambulatnce service technician with the 65th Medical Operations Squadron stationed at Lajes Field, Azores. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
  • U.S. Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone along with Jane D. Hartly, U.S. ambassador to France, and his two friends speak at a press conference in Paris Aug. 23, 2015, following a foiled attack on a French train. Stone was on vacation with his childhood friends, Aleksander Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, when an armed gunman entered their train carrying an assault rifle, a handgun and a box cutter. The three friends, with the help of a British passenger, subdued the gunman after his rifle jammed. Stone’s medical background prepared him to begin treating wounded passengers while waiting for the authorities to arrive. Stone is an ambulance service technician with the 65th Medical Operations Squadron stationed at Lajes Field, Azores. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
  • U.S. Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone along with Jane D. Hartly, U.S. ambassador to France and his two friends speak at a press conference in Paris Aug. 23, 2015, following a foiled attack on a French train. Stone was on vacation with his childhood friends, Aleksander Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, when an armed gunman entered their train carrying an assault rifle, a handgun and a box cutter. The three friends, with the help of a British passenger, subdued the gunman after his rifle jammed. Stone’s medical background prepared him to begin treating wounded passengers while waiting for the authorities to arrive. Stone is an ambulance service technician with the 65th Medical Operations Squadron stationed at Lajes Field, Azores. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
  • Off-duty US Air Force Spencer Stone (L), one of the men to overpower the gunman who opened fire with an assault rifle on a high-speed train, gestures as he leaves the hopistal of Lesquin, northern France on August 22, 2015. On August 21, 2015, a gunman opened fire on the train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris, injuring two people before being tackled by several passengers including off-duty American servicemen. Spencer Stone was first to the gunman who slashed him in the neck and almost sliced off his thumb with a box-cutter.AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUEN (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images)
  • PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 23: Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos Give A Press Conference at US Ambassador Residence on August 23, 2015 in Paris, France. Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos overpowered a gunman aboard a high-speed train after 25-year-old Moroccan, Ayoub El-Khazzani, opened fire on a Thalys train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris. El-Khazzani, who had a Kalashnikov, an automatic pistol and a box cutter, was arrested when the train stopped at the French town of Arras. (Photo by Laurent Viteur/Getty Images)
  • U.S. Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone is interviewed in Paris Aug. 23, 2015, following a foiled attack on a French train. Stone was on vacation with his childhood friends, Aleksander Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, when an armed gunman entered their train carrying an assault rifle, a handgun and a box cutter. The three friends, with the help of a British passenger, subdued the gunman after his rifle jammed. Stone’s medical background prepared him to begin treating wounded passengers while waiting for the authorities to arrive. Stone is an ambulance service technician with the 65th Medical Operations Squadron stationed at Lajes Field, Azores. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)