Staff photo / Dan Pompili Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Army veteran PFC Kenneth J. David of Girard, left, receives a plaque from Austintown Fitch High School Principal Sal Maiorana at the school’s Veterans Day ceremony Tuesday. David was the honored guest and speaker at the event, which featured performances by the school’s concert band and nationally renowned show choir. David received the Medal of Honor from former President Joe Biden in January for his heroic actions in Vietnam on May 7, 1970.

AUSTINTOWN — Students honored and were honored by a national hero Tuesday.

As they gathered to celebrate Veterans Day, Ohio’s lone surviving Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, U.S. Army Veteran PFC Kenneth J. David of Girard, joined them to speak.

David received the medal — the highest honor a soldier can receive for service — from former President Joe Biden on Jan. 3, for his heroic actions in Vietnam on May 7, 1970.

The day’s ceremonies were emceed by Fitch High School Choir Director Bill Klein.

“Veterans Day is more than just a day to recount. It is a day to recognize the courage, sacrifices, and dedication of those who have protected our freedoms and protected our nation,” Klein said. “As we go through today’s program, let’s take a moment to reflect on the cost of freedom and the responsibility we share to uphold the ideals that our veterans fought to protect.”

Klein then introduced Marine Corps veteran Sgt. Ken Jakubec of Austintown to read David’s bio and his list of commendations and citations. Those include an honor from just the past week, when David was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame for service to his community and state.

Jakubec then introduced Air Force Col. Kevin Riley — director of Fitch’s junior ROTC program — to read David’s Medal of Honor citation. Before recounting the details of the events that earned David the honor, Riley explained the significance of the military salute.

“The salute is given by a person of junior rank to a person of senior rank, in recognition of that rank but also how they earned that rank,” he said. “It’s respect and honor toward that position.”

Riley said the salute has special significance in respect to the Medal of Honor.

“The Medal of Honor is awarded, it is never won. It is also customary for any member of the military to salute the medal and its honoree,” he said.

He said while it is customary across the armed services, the Air Force is the only branch that made saluting the medal and its honoree mandatory.

David was drafted into the Army in 1969 and arrived in South Vietnam in January 1970. He served in Delta Company of the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry.

Just before 5 a.m. on May 7, the North Vietnamese Army attacked his unit from atop a mountain in the A Shau Valley of Vietnam near the Laotian border. Seven of David’s brothers in arms were killed in the attack.

Of his unit of 18, 14 were wounded or killed. David was wounded, but was well enough to fight, and his sergeant was wounded, but was well enough to assume David’s responsibility of manning the radio.

David stepped up outside the defensive perimeter, where he was completely exposed to enemy fire, and repeatedly drew the attention and assault away from his comrades so the wounded could be carried to safety.

He held his position for most of the 90-minute barrage until the North Vietnamese Army were driven away when gunships arrived to support the soldiers on the ground.

David won a Purple Heart and Distinguished Service Cross at the time. It was not until Halloween of 2024 that he received a call from Biden inviting him to the White House to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

David said the medal is an honor, but a somber reminder to him and everyone in the room.

“Any one of us would die for his brother next to him,” he said of his fellow soldiers. “I will always wear this medal to honor the ones I stood beside. I will always remember the ones who did not come home to get old and grey like me.”

David told the audience — mostly Fitch students — that his part of his responsibility as a soldier and an American extends to them.

“I believe that every one of you can be a better person who shows courage, kindness, and love to each other,” he said. “If you believe in yourself, others will believe in you, and you don’t need a medal to be a hero, you just need a heart that is willing to help.”

Following David’s remarks, the Fitch High School Show Choir — nationally renowned for its talent and its tradition of annual trips to sing at veterans’ hospitals across the country — regaled the audience with renditions of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.”

The Fitch concert band played a medley of armed services songs, and veterans from each branch stood when their song was played.

Veterans in attendance represented the Vietnam era through those who served in the War on Terror. There were no representatives from World War II or Korea.

Those veterans included Riley, Jakubec, Marine Corps Col. (ret.) Brian Kennedy, Superintendent Tim Kelty — an Army veteran from Operation Desert Storm — Vietnam-era Army veteran Sam Swoger III, Army veteran Tony Viano, Army veteran Kathy Tuomala, Army veteran Jennifer Grimm, Marine Corps veteran Bob Marino and Austintown Township Trustee and Marine Corps veteran, Sgt. (E-5) Robert Santos.

To honor David’s distinguished service in battle and his continued commitment to community service, Santos presented him with a proclamation on behalf of the Board of Trustees and Fitch Principal Sal Maiorana presented him with a plaque.