Ohio Military Hall of Fame: Six Local Veterans Inducted

Article presented by Hometown-Motors, Inc.

Photo credits: The Ohio Channel

The 24th annual induction ceremony for The Ohio Military Hall of Fame for Valor Class of 2023 was held Friday at the Ohio Statehouse Atrium.

Six servicemen with local ties were among the twenty-seven honorees. Richard Enderlin of Chillicothe (Civil War), William Hess of Athens (WWII), Fayette County natives James Ducey (WWI) and John Wrobbel (WWI) and brothers Earl Williams (Vietnam) and Wayne Williams (WWII) from Waverly.

Chillicothe’s Melody Lapczynski Hatfield represented Enderlin who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War.

Earl Williams, now a resident of Washington state, is the only surviving member of the six local men honored. Earl and his brother Wayne were Silver Star recipients during their time in the military. The younger for his action in Vietnam while Wayne was among the men who stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Hess received the Silver Star as a member of the Underwater Demolition Team 17 assault unit which landed in the Okinawa Gunto.

Wrobbel was a cook who received the Distinguished Service Cross from Major General John Pershing. While in France, Wrobbel was responsible for feeding a large contingent of Army soldiers. A three-day battle took place that was so horrific all the other cooks he oversaw fled to safety. Wrobbel stayed at his post so the soldiers has something hot to eat.

Ducey received the Silver Star for his actions at Chateau-Thierry, France June 6 to July 10, 1918. He received a second Silver Star for his actions at Soissons, France July 18-22, 1918.

The ceremony brings the total number of Ohio Military Hall of Fame for Valor recipients to 481 from all around Ohio, of who fourteen were awarded the Medal of Honor, including Col. Paris Davis who served as an Army Captain in Vietnam and received his award March 3, 2023 from President Biden in Washington D.C.

To learn more about the Hall and its members, visit www.ohioheroes.org.

CLICK HERE to view the 2023 induction ceremony from The Ohio Channel.

NOTE: Melody Lapczynski Hatfield contributed to this article. She is currently the historian of record for Ohio Military Hall of Fame. She has authored a book for June release which describes the men and women inducted into the Hall.