Wouldn't you want your mom at this ceremony?
This week France's President François Hollande awarded American servicemen Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler with France's highest honor, making them
Knights of the Legion of Honor. All three of their proud mothers were able to attend the ceremony, thanks to the quick thinking of a private pilot, the generosity of a billionaire couple and a lot of cut red tape by the U.S. State Department. Pilot Doug Perrill contacted his employer, Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle, and asked to take the mothers of these young men to see the ceremony in person. Boyle and his wife responded with an
enthusiastic "yes":
"I was really intrigued with the story," Boyle said in an interview with The Oregonian / OregonLive. "It was sort of a movie script -- just very interesting. And then the Oregon connection. These guys who were so brave as to do what they did, I just felt they deserved to have their moms present.
But, it wasn't as simple as securing a lift to Paris. There were other last-minute obstacles that only the U.S. State Department could address:
At least one and perhaps all of the mothers did not have passports, Boyle said. He said Perrill, working with the U.S. State Department, resolved this issue.
Also, last-minute flights through international airspace are "a complicated venture that was made much easier by the State Department, apparently, which coordinated the whole event."
The mothers arrived in Paris just in time for the ceremony. Not too bad for only 12 hours worth of planning! Hats off to everyone involved in getting those three proud mothers to Paris.