Free Republic

A U.S. Marine helicopter pilot who helped save a British marine?s life in Iraq was awarded the British Distinguished Flying Cross on Wednesday, the first time an American has received the honor since World War II. In a Buckingham Palace ceremony in London, Queen Elizabeth II pinned the medal on U.S. Marine Maj. William D. Chesarek Jr. He has served as the weapons and tactics instructor with the British 847 Naval Air Squadron since 2005 as part of an exchange program between the two countries. His actions during a deployment last year to the British area of operations in Iraq,...