LaPointe-Dafler, 74, said a new Medal of Honor memorial that broke ground this week in West Dayton will be a fitting tribute to her late husband and other local heroes who demonstrated incredible courage in dangerous situations.
The memorial will be the centerpiece of a reimagined and remade city park, now renamed Honor Park, that officials hope will be a beautiful public space and an attraction that brings people to the Wright Dunbar area.
Dozens of people this week attended a groundbreaking for the new Medal of Honor memorial and Honor Park project.
A volunteer-led effort to create the new memorial has raised more than $1.35 million of a $1.5 million fundraising goal.
The memorial will be constructed at what until now has been called Friendship Park, located at Edwin C. Moses Boulevard and the western end of the Third Street Bridge.
The park is part of a gateway into the Wright Dunbar district and already is home to World War I monuments and Gold Star mothers memorials.
LaPointe-Dafler, who lives in Jefferson Twp. and who serves on the Medal of Honor memorial committee, said the construction of this new monument means the world to her because her husband’s name and story will be remembered.
LaPointe-Dafler said 41 people from eight local counties have received the Medal of Honor.
LaPointe, who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, is one of only three conscientious objectors to receive this award, which is the nation’s highest military award for valor.
In total, only 3,517 service members have received the Medal of Honor. About 41 million people have served in the U.S. military.
There are only 60 living recipients, including five people from Ohio.
One of those Ohioans is Sammy L. Davis, who LaPointe-Dafler said she met a few weeks ago. She said he was humbled to learn about the new memorial.
“I’m excited and looking forward to honoring these great Miami Valley heroes — their names will be inscribed here, so their stories will continue to be told,” said LaPointe-Dafler, who is secretary of the Gold Star Wives of America, Miami Valley Chapter.
Davis, who was born in Dayton on Nov. 1, 1946, received the Medal of Honor in 1968 for his brave actions during combat in Vietnam.
Davis was a cannoneer at a remote fire support base who continued to load and fire an artillery weapon at the enemy, even after he was injured by a mortar round that exploded nearby.
Davis grabbed an air mattress and floated across a deep river to rescue three wounded comrades.
Other local recipients of the Medal of Honor have similar tales of courage and audacity in the face of danger, death and long odds.
LaPointe-Dafler said she hopes the monument will be a place for learning and meditation. Visitors will be able to learn more about the Medal of Honor recipients by scanning QR codes on their phones.
Judge Walter Rice, a trustee with Wright Dunbar Inc. who spoke at the groundbreaking, said he hopes that visitors to Honor Park will be inspired and get a sense of what patriotism and sacrifice means and what makes this country great.
Rice said a growing number of Americans have no personal connections to veterans and people who serve in the military.
Today, less than 1% of U.S. adults are active-duty members of the military.
A couple of years ago, about 6% of U.S. adults were veterans. That compares to about 18% of adults in 1980, says Pew Research Center.
Rice said he hopes people realize that the American experience and democracy was only made possible because of the dedication and sacrifice of its service members.
Col. Dustin Richards, Commander of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, said he hopes the memorial will help the memory of these people live on forever.
He said this will be an opportunity for newer generations to learn their stories.
“Every one of us wearing the uniform hopes to be able to live up to the legacy that they’ve left, if that need ever arises,” Richards said.
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