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World War II veteran earns French honor
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Henry Petree has many reminders of his time in the military, from letters of commendation to maps of all of the places his unit went while deployed. - photo by Zac Taylor
Henry Reyno Petree and his fellow soldiers in the 1306th Engineer General Service Regiment specialized in building bridges, lots of bridges. Petree, now 91, built dozens throughout France during World War II, allowing the landings at D-Day to turn into a rout of the German defenders through the country and into Germany itself. For his service during the war, Petree was honored with the Legion of Honor by the French consulate Jan. 27, in his hometown of Atlanta, along with 11 other veterans who helped liberate France from German occupation.