ATLANTA – State Representative John Yates (R-Griffin) recently received the Legion of Honor Award from The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation after being nominated for his outstanding service as a veteran and government leader.
“I am honored and grateful to receive the Legion of Honor Award,” said Rep. Yates. “While serving as an Army pilot in World War II and throughout my life, I have seen the importance and power of brotherhood and the interfaith community.”
The Legion of Honor Award is given to citizens who have been nominated in recognition of their exceptional selfless service that contributes to the well-being of his or her community and to a spirit of interfaith cooperation. To be considered for this award, nominees must have demonstrated selfless and transformative achievements that go above and beyond the duties of any organizational position.
Distinguished recipients of the Legion of Honor Award include Presidents Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. Other notable recipients include Bob Hope, John Glenn, Mickey Rooney, Martha Raye, Marian Anderson, and Tommy Lasorda; among many other deserving military personnel, veterans, and civilians.
The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation is a national non-profit organization founded on the memory of four Army Chaplains, who showed exemplary courage and selflessness on the U.S.A.T. DORCHESTER when it was torpedoed in 1943. The chaplains died after giving up their own lifejackets and helping others to safety as the ship sank. Their experience is a testimony to others of the strength of interfaith cooperation and selfless service to every part of our country. The Legion of Honor Award is awarded to outstanding members of society whose lives model the giving spirit and unconditional service to community, nation, and humanity without regard to race, religion, or creed exemplified so dramatically by the Four Chaplains.
Representative Yates was presented with this award in the House chamber of the state capitol on the final day of the General Assembly’s 2013 legislative session. Representative Yates is the only current Georgia state representative to have fought in World War II. He serves as the Chairman of the Defense and Veterans Affairs Committee.
For more information on the Legion of Honors Award and The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation, please click here.
Representative John Yates represents the citizens of District 73, which includes portions of Fayette, Henry, and Spalding Counties. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 1992, and is currently the Chairman of the Defense & Veteran Affairs Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations, Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment, and Motor Vehicles committees.
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