World War II vet receives France's highest honor

Elvin “Speed” Homan, a World War II veteran, was conferred with France’s highest honor Saturday morning, the Knight of Legion of Honor medal.
Homan, a Brownton native who later resided in Glencoe and is now a resident of Harmony River Living Center in Hutchinson, received the medal from French Consul General Guillaume Lacroix.
“This is a great honor,” said Homan. “I thought I’d never get it.”
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Homan quit high school in his junior year, 1943, to join the service. He wanted to join the Navy; he was assigned to the Army. When his drill instructor announced he was going to join the Paratroopers in the 101st Airborne Division, Homan decided to go with him. The other option was the South Pacific, and Homan didn’t want to go there.
According to an article in the October 2016 Legionnaire, when asked why he joined the paratroopers, Homan joked, “Because I didn’t want to walk to work.”
He made three jumps during his service in the Army. The first was on D-Day, when he landed miles from his intended target. The second was at Market Garden, in which he was one of seven survivors of 18 who jumped. He was almost immediately captured and made a prisoner of war in September 1944. He was liberated by the Russians in January 1945, and evaded re-capture by heading east. Homan was honorably discharged in 1945, but was called back into service in 1950 to serve with the 187th Airborne Infantry in the Korean War. He was discharged for good in 1951.
For more from the ceremony, see the Nov. 22 print edition of The Chronicle.