French President Francois Hollande awarded the French Legion of Honor (Legion d'Honneur) to the three Americans and one Briton, who stopped a possible terror attack by subduing an armed assailant on a high-speed train carrying 500 passengers to Paris.
Hollande, who held the ceremony Monday, said that while two of the Americans who tackled the gunman were soldiers, "on Friday you were simply passengers. You behaved as soldiers but also as responsible men." Asserting they "gave a lesson in courage" by doing so, according to SFGate.
Hollande then presented the medal to U.S. nationals Spencer Stone, 23, Alek Skarlatos, 22, Anthony Sadler, 23, and British citizen Chris Norman, 62.
"You risked your lives to defend an idea, an idea of liberty, of freedom," he said.
"Since Friday, the entire world admires your courage, your sangfroid, your spirit of solidarity," he continued. "This is what allowed you to with bare hands - your bare hands - to subdue an armed man. This must be an example for all, and a source of inspiration."
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and Jane Hartley, the U.S. Ambassador to France, were among those who attended the ceremony, according to USA Today.
A French citizen, who requested to remain anonymous, and a French-American named by Hollande as Mark Moogalian, 51, will also receive the Legion d'Honneur at a later date, reported the Miami Herald. Moogalian, remains in the hospital after being shot in the neck.
