As proposed by the Minister of Education André Mallarmé, the President of the French Republic, Albert Lebrun, awarded the Legion of Honour to HEC Paris by the Decree of 1 March 1936. As the highest decoration in France, this award constituted a mark of recognition for the School’s participation in the War of 1914-18, during which 30 students and 379 alumni had died. This distinction was awarded on top of the Cross of War 1914-1918, as well as to the Cross of War 1939-1945. In the Second World War, the school once again paid a heavy price with 34 students and 225 alumni fallen in action. Each year, the members of the HEC Alumni Association congregate below the Arc de Triomphe to place a sheaf of flowers on the tomb of unknown soldiers to pay homage to their fallen comrades.