medal if they occurred between 2 September 1939 and 15 August 1945. The medal can be awarded to both French citizens and foreign nationals serving in the ranks of the French armed forces. Civilians and members of the military killed, or who have died as a result of wounds received during an escape attempt, are automatically awarded the medal. A decree of 28 December 1981 states that "any person eligible for the "Escapees' Medal" is asked to put forward a request". There is only one military unit that has been awarded the medal, the 2nd Dragoon Regiment, which received it in 1945, after the entire regiment decided to escape the German occupation of Vichy France (Case Anton) in November 1942. Some members of the regiment went into the resistance, and others joined the Free French in Africa; one officer eventually reached Algiers still carrying the regimental standard. A survivor of the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup, Joseph Weismann, was awarded the Escapees' Medal in 2014 even though he did not meet the criteria set out in the 1959 decree. At the age of 11, Weismann had escaped from Beaune-la-Rolande transit camp, where the French authorities interned Jews who were to be sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. Weismann had been applying for the Escapees' Medal over a period of about 15 years before the French government finally awarded it to him. Award description The Escapees' Medal is a 30 mm in diameter circular medal struck from bronze. Its design is from the French engraver A. Dubois. Its obverse bears the relief left profile bust of Marianne (representing the French Republic) crowned with branches of oak, along the outer circumference, the relief inscription () "FRENCH REPUBLIC". On its reverse, at center, the relief inscription on three rows () (ESCAPEES' MEDAL) surrounded by a wreath of oak branches. The medal is suspended by a ring through the suspension loop to a 36 mm wide green silk moiré ribbon with a 7 mm wide central orange stripe and 2 mm wide longitudinal orange stripes located 2 mm from the ribbon's outer edges. Notable recipients (partial list) General Charles de Gaulle General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque General Marie-Pierre Kœnig Lieutenant General Marcel Bigeard Lieutenant-Colonel Dimitri Amilakhvari Journalist Michel Moine Foreign Legion Sergeant Peter J. Ortiz General Edgard de Larminat General Paul Arnaud de Foïard General Raoul Magrin-Vernerey Warrant Officer Raymond Duc Resistance leader Rene-Georges Laurin General Pierre