June 1 – For most of Ernest Brien’s life, he was a gruff and stoic man. But that changed in his final decades. With the kind encouragement of his son-in-law, he began to tell his family about his heroic past in World War II and the Korean War. With that, he softened – and began to share his emotions and connect with his family in a way he had never done before.
A crowd of about 35 people gathered under sunny skies outside Portland City Hall on Saturday to celebrate Brien, a Portland resident who died in late December at age 103, posthumously receiving France’s highest honor, the Legion of Honor , for his services in World War II.
The medal, which is awarded to those who have provided significant public service to France in a civil or military capacity, was presented to Brien’s family by the Honorary Consul of France in Maine, Alban Maino, and the President of the Alliance Francaise Maine, Regina Whittlesey.
“This medallion serves as a symbol of our enduring gratitude for the sacrifices he made and the unwavering courage he displayed in the service of our country,” Maino said. “Through his service, he exemplified the highest values of honor, duty and patriotism.”
A total of 79,000 people have received the Legion of Honor. On average, 2,000 French and 300 foreigners receive the honor every year.
Brien’s time in service was one of courage. During his 19 years in the army, he helped liberate the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp; took part in the last major German offensive on the Western Front, the Ardennes Offensive; and directly endangered himself to protect his platoon, according to his family and U.S. Army documents.
For these moments of courage, he received multiple awards, including a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts.
But Brien was a modest man. He grew older, but his family did not hear these stories. They only found out a few years ago that he helped liberate a concentration camp, ran into machine gun fire to protect his fellow soldiers and hid in a trench for 21 days straight.
“I was just doing my job,” was always his response when people brought up how he had contributed to the war effort.
But when Brien’s wife died about 15 years ago and he moved in with his daughter and her husband, he started sharing a little more.
Brien’s daughter, Kathleen Giering, thanks her husband for that. From the time he moved in until the last months of his life, Brien helped Warren Giering, his son-in-law, manage his and Kathleen’s properties. Together they built a stone fence, felled trees to heat their home – which is heated only by a wood stove – and provided Warren’s permanent garden beds.
“Every day we were working,” Warren said.
During hours spent riding the tractor together or working in the fields, Warren asked Brien questions about his life.
Slowly he started to open up.
Initially, he stayed away from the hardships and pain of war. He avoided talking about his fearlessness and leadership, choosing instead to tell funny anecdotes about trading goods and negotiating with other troops.
“He was hesitant to tell everyone how brave he was,” said his grandson Christopher Orr.
But eventually he began to share more about the hardships he faced – and his courage in the face of danger.
“It was great,” Kathleen said. “Even the bad things were great because he trusted us enough to share these things.”
When Kathleen was young, her father was rough and intimidating.
“He was clearly having a hard time with it,” Kathleen said.
But by the end of his life he was a different person.
“It was a nice growth,” she said.
Even when he opened up, he remained modest about his time in the war and didn’t want people to make a big fuss about it.
Still, the honor would have been meaningful to him on Saturday, said his granddaughter Erinne Brown.
“He would have been very proud of this,” she said.
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