Legiunea de merit

"His Majesty King Mihai I of Rumania rendered exceptionally meritorius conduct in the performance of outstanding service to the cause of the Allied Nations in their struggle against Hitlerite Germany. In July and August, 1944, his Nation, under the dominance of a dictatorial regime over which the King had no control, having allied herself with the German aggressors, he, King Mihai I, succeeded in giving purpose, direction and inspiration to the theretofore uncoordinated internal forces of opposition to the rulling dictator.  

 In culmination of his efforts, on 23 august 1944, although his capitol was still dominated by German troops, he personally, on his own initiative, and in complete disregard for his own safety, gave the signal for a coup d'etat by ordering his palace guards to arrest the dictator and his chief ministers. Immediately thereafter, in an inspired country-wide radio address, he proclaimedto the Nation his decision to release Rumania for the Nazi yoke and called upon his Army to turn upon the German troops, and to kill, capture or drive them from the country.

Confronted with this forthright and aggressive action on the part of their sovereign, the responde of the Rumanian people and the Rumanian Army was wholehearted and immediate, with the result that, in the space of a few days, the greater part of the Rumania's territory was liberated from Nazi control, and the main line of the German resistance on the Southeastern front was withdrawn over five hundred kilometers to the Northwest. By his superior judgement, his boldness of action and the high character of his personal leadership, King Mihai I has made an outstanding contribution to the cause of freedom and democracy"

 - Harry Truman