The ceremony took place at the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh Wednesday.
The honorees - Staff Sergeant John Dewitt Waters from Casar; Sergeant Earnest B. Moore from Yanceyville and Seaman First Class Irvin "Buck" Price from Tarboro - all received the rank of Knight.
The honor is meant to express France's gratitude to those who liberated it from oppression from 1944-1945, according to a statement from the Consulate General of France in Atlanta.
It was presented by Louis de Corail, the new Consul General of France to the U.S. Southeast.
"You have given me and the people of France the right to say what we believe," Governor Roy Cooper said to the veterans during Wednesday's ceremony.
"I'm glad we went in to get rid of Hitler," Sergeant Earnest "Benny" Moore said.
"I'm accepting it for all of them that did not come back," Seaman First Class Irvin "Buck" Price added.
The National Order of the Legion of Honor was established in 1802 by Napolean Bonaparte.
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