situation where three men, american men, sprung into action, simply on vacation through europe, vacationers that turned into heros because of quick action, not only awarded here today, but president obama spoke with them over the weekend as well to thank them for their courage, and i think a lot of people owe a lot of debt to these men for what they did on that train. i want to bring in nbc news's claudia who is nearby. claudia, this is really a wonderful moment for all involve because this story could have ended very differently. >> reporter: well, this is be y betty, a wonderful and rare moment, i mean, the legion of honor here in france is being given to not too many people, not many french, let alone foreign nationals. it is given to french in any trade, of course, and less to foreign nationals, unless, they are, of course, a protagonist in a exceptional circumstance, and