Legion of Honour Legion of Honour The Legion of Honour (full name: National Order of the Legion of Honour; ) is the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte and retained by all the divergent governments and regimes later holding power in France, up to the present. The order's motto is ' ("Honour and Fatherland"), and its seat is the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur next to the Musée d'Orsay, on the left bank of the Seine in Paris. The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction: ' (Knight), ' (Officer), '
Legion of Merit Marine Corps and Air Force) or Commander (Navy and Coast Guard) (O-5), and above. About the 1980s, the Legion of Merit began to be awarded more frequently to senior ranking warrant officers (W-4 and W-5), as well as to senior enlisted service members (E-8 and E-9), usually as a retirement award. The Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) was established in 1969 as a "junior" version of the Legion of Merit. The MSM is awarded more frequently and to lower ranking military personnel than the Legion of Merit, so that today the award of the Legion of Merit to officers in pay