Staff photo / R. Michael Semple Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Ken David of Girard stands along side the new Metal of Honor Wall located in the Trumbull County Veterans Service Commission office.

WARREN — The Trumbull County Veterans Service Commission unveiled a new Medal of Honor display this week, paying tribute to local recipients of the nation’s highest military honor — from the Civil War to the Vietnam War.

The dedication ceremony brought together veterans, community members and officials to honor the bravery of six Trumbull County servicemen, including Vietnam War veteran Kenneth J. David, who received his Medal of Honor after a 15-year review process.

“It’s quite an honor,” David said, reflecting on the display that now bears his name alongside fellow recipients. “Being there from the Civil War, which was a long time ago, and then there’s me from the present time … it’s humbling.”

David, who served as a radio-telephone operator with the 101st Airborne Division, was recognized for his actions on May 7, 1970, near Fire Support Base Maureen in Vietnam. He deliberately drew enemy fire to himself to save his unit, an act of valor that initially earned him the Distinguished Service Cross before it was upgraded to the Medal of Honor in 2021.

The road to recognition was long.

“It was 15 years through the Pentagon, all the committees and subcommittees,” David said. “Then it sat on the president’s desk for two years before I got it.”

Cari Delgado, director of the Trumbull County Veterans Service Commission, described a long effort to research, design and install the display — a yearlong project that involved scouring archives and recreating original citations.

“These individuals who have the highest military honor deserve more than we could ever give them,” Delgado said. “To have a plaque sitting on a shelf was a disservice. We wanted something everyone could see.”

The wall features photographs and citations for recipients like Sgt. Henry M. Fox and 1st Sgt. James H. Bronson, both Civil War heroes, as well as Navy Carpenter Patrick McGunigal, who rescued a pilot from drowning in 1917.

For David, the honor is bittersweet.

“I was just happy to come home after the hospital,” he said. “A lot of my battle buddies didn’t get that chance.”

Frank F. Gillespie Jr., commander of the local Disabled American Veterans chapter, praised David’s humility.

“He hasn’t changed a bit since getting the award,” Gillespie said. “He’s still the same guy — always ready to help.”

Gillespie also criticized the bureaucratic delays in awarding such honors.

“Half of these guys are one foot in the grave by the time they get recognized,” he said. “Something needs to change.”