I rather doubt that anyone who ever served in the US military would ever consider French soldiers cowards (and, IMHO, no other American's opinion counts). The service of the Free French contingent of the Allied Forces in Europe served in an exemplary manner. Their small contribution (one battalion) to the UN forces during the Korean War went home with three US unit citations. Their troops in Bosnia during the three-sided war there did quite well, considering the restrictions imposed by the UN. The French governments did them no favors by requiring them to execute abysmal foreign policy, but that is a different story.