WARREN — On Saturday, as Warren’s opportunity to host The Wall that Heals Vietnam Veterans Memorial entered its third day, a Medal of Honor Tribute to the Fallen took place in Packard Park with the laying of a rose at each photo of the 61 casualties of the war from Trumbull County.

Herm Breuer, former director of the Trumbull County Veterans Service Commission, said the return of The Wall that Heals “brings us together to read and hear the names of the young men and women who never got to grow old.”

He said it “brings us together regardless of skin or financial means or how you worship or who you voted for because in this life we are all in it together.

“For as much as we would like to think that how we vote or how we pray or how much we have makes us different from others or makes us better than others, it doesn’t. Of the young men and women whose names are inscribed on this wall, some were educated, some were not. Some were Christians, some were Jews, white and black.

“And for some, English was a second language because (as President John F. Kennedy said), “Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future, and we are all mortal,” Breuer said.

He noted that about 1% of Americans will serve in the military. “But here in Trumbull County, you can be proud that residents serve at rates closer to 10%, and they have done so with honor and distinction.”

After the rose laying was complete, Breuer announced that the activities would continue with the honoring of Kenneth J. David of Girard for becoming one of only 61 living Congressional Medal of Honor recipients Jan. 3, when President Joe Biden bestowed the medal — the nation’s highest award for valor in combat — upon David for his service in Vietnam May 7, 1970.

“He was 19 years old, and we know that was the average age of the riflemen in Vietnam,” Breuer said. “On May 7, 1970, Thua Thien Province in Vietnam, Ken was a radioman. The radioman in an infantry platoon would be found close to the platoon leader, 1st Lt. Lawrence Fletcher, and the platoon sergeant, Steve Avgerinos, who we have here today, because if they needed to call for help or to do a radio check-in, they would need Ken to be nearby,” Breuer said.

His platoon, which was part of the “famed 1/506th Curahee. Many of you will know that from the ‘Band of Brothers,'” Breuer said. “They were airlifted into an abandoned fire support base in Maureen in Thua Thien Province on May 6, 1970 and told to secure the base.

“Two platoons were to secure the base of the hill, and the 2nd Platoon was to secure the top of the hill. We’re fortunate enough to have with us here today two of Ken’s comrades from 2nd Platoon,” Breuer said of Avgerinos, from Indiana “and his fellow infantryman Richard Doyle” of Vermont.

“What happened on that hill that day we are able to know because of the heroic actions taken by Ken and his comrades,” Breuer said.

Also speaking was Col. John Stewart, newly appointed Ohio assistant to the Adjutant General of the Army, who is responsible for establishing policies, priorities and oversight for the readiness of more than 10,000 soldiers assigned to six major subordinate commands within the Ohio Army National Guard.

Stewart called David a “hero of heroes,” saying David receiving the Medal of Honor “does not happen every day. And being in the presence of one today is truly humbling for me as a soldier and I think for all of us, to realize the brightness of what we are in the presence of today.”

He said that as a soldier, he respects David, “and as a citizen, you have my eternal gratitude.”

David was drafted into the Army in 1969 and arrived in South Vietnam in January 1970. His unit came under attack just before 5 a.m. May 7 from the North Vietnamese Army atop a mountain in the A Shau Valley of Vietnam near the Laotian border. Six American soldiers were killed in the attack.

Fourteen U.S. soldiers — all wounded — made it out alive when the 90-minute barrage ended. Among them was David, who is credited with saving the lives of 13 of his comrades.

The first rescue helicopter arrived about an hour into the fight. When it began to draw enemy fire while trying to land, David drew the attention back to himself by screaming and waving at NVA soldiers, according to military records.

David was wounded during the fight. He said shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade hit him in the back, and both of his eardrums had been blown out. He was hospitalized for five months.

When the fighting began, he had 28 magazines of bullets. He was down to one when the fighting stopped.

Among those attending Saturday’s events was Britta Thompson of Weathersfield and her great-granddaughter, Audrey Jenkins of Newton Falls, who placed a rose in front of one of the photos. Thompson was married to Thomas E. Douglas, a Marine from Warren who was killed in Vietnam.

Records state that his “date of casualty” was Nov. 22, 1965, but he was listed as missing in action for 14 years until his designation was changed to killed in action, Thompson said.

She and Thomas were married in 1958, and they had children together. Thomas went off to war in 1965, Thompson said.

Among the moments of Saturday’s events that Breuer said he found exciting was when a man walked up to some of the soldiers who were part of the program and re-introduced himself as having served with one or more of them many years ago.

“This is what happens when this comes to town, is people get reunited who haven’t seen each other in forever,” Breuer said. “To see those guys, it’s really, really fantastic,” he said.

Breuer helped David get his Distinguished Service Cross upgraded to the Congressional Medal of Honor when Breuer was Trumbull County Veterans Service Commision director. It took 17 years.

Warren Mayor Doug Franklin also gave the Key to the City to David.

The Wall That Heals was hosted by the Warren Heritage Center in partnership with Dr. John and Denise York. The media sponsor was the Tribune Chronicle.

It was here in August of 2018 and Warren was the only city in Ohio to host the wall this year.