BUTLER COUNTY MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS
Corporal Richard W. DeWitt, Civil War, Company D, 47th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Private Benjamin W. Schenck, Civil War, Company D, 116th Illinois Infantry
Private Thomas Guinn, Civil War, Company D, 47th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Sergeant Joseph Stickels, Civil War, Company A, 83rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Private Edward J. Bebb, Civil War, Company D, 4th Iowa Cavalry
Private William G. Cubberly, Western Frontier Indian Campaign, Company L, 8th U. S. Cavalry Regiment
Sergeant William T. DeArmond, Western Frontier Indian Campaign, Company I, 5th U. S. Infantry Regiment
Private Samuel D. Phillips, Western Frontier Indian Campaign, Company H, 2nd U. S. Cavalry Regiment
Private First Class Patrick L. Kessler, World War II, Company K, 30th Infantry, 3rd infantry Division
Private First Class William B. Baugh, Korean War, Company G. 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division
Captain William F. Barber, Korean War, commanded Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division
Sergeant Gordon R. Roberts, Vietnam War, Company B, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division
Source: Butler County
Memorials, such as the newly dedicated Medal of Honor wall in Butler County, serve as more than just a way to pay homage to war heroes. Officials say the memorial also sends an important message to future generations.
The Government Services Center lobby was crowded Monday morning as local dignitaries, veterans and service members gathered to christen the 3-D memorial to a dozen county Medal of Honor recipients. The panels on the wall and a scrolling video feed tell the stories of a dozen men who earned the highest honor a service member can receive. Only 79 recipients of the medal are alive today.
State Rep. Margy Conditt, a Liberty Twp. Republican, told the crowd the stories of valor are invaluable.
“It is so important for our children to know these stories,” she said. “If they don’t hear the stories about heroes of the past then they won’t have heroes to follow… This is really, really important.”
The keynote speaker for the ceremony was Colonel Timothy D. Ballard, who commands 2,200 personnel at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base medical center. He said the dedication was fitting, given Veterans Day is Tuesday, and he asked everyone to be cognizant of the sacrifices all military men and women and their families have made, to protect the freedom everyone enjoys, "thank a veteran," he said.
President Abraham Lincoln authorized a bill that created the Medal of Honor on Dec. 21, 1861. The medal was to be “bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen and marines as shall distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other seamanlike qualities during the present war (Civil War).”
Since that time only 3,492 military personnel have been awarded the medal for going above and beyond the call of duty. There are at least a dozen Butler County residents who have received the medal.
Ballard noted how rarely the Medal of Honor is bestowed.
“Over time it (the medal) has been maintained as the pinnacle honor for our armed services,” he said. “It is the only medal presented by the president in the name of Congress to acknowledge a member of the armed forces, who has distinguished themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life, going beyond the call of duty.”
In addition to the wall, the family of one of the recipients, Corporal Richard W. Dewitt, has also loaned the county his medal and a photo of five medal recipients taken at the county fairgrounds, that are also on display.
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