RIPLEY – Plaques were unveiled Friday at the Ripley Roll of Honor Monument commemorating local military medal recipients. The plaques list the names of the men who received these honors, but not the stories behind them. Here are three such stories of our local heroes:

John H. Haight

Medal of Honor recipient John H. Haight, received his medal for Extraordinary Heroism on May 5, 1862, while serving with Company “G,” 72nd New York Infantry, in action at Williamsburg, Virginia. Sergeant Haight voluntarily carried a severely wounded comrade off the field in the face of a large opposing force. In doing so, he was himself severely wounded and taken prisoner. Upon rejoining his unit, he went into the fight at Bristol Station, Virginia, in August 1862 even though he was still severely disabled. At Manassas, he volunteered to search the woods for the wounded. He was issued this medial on June 8, 1888, in recognition of his extreme heroism and valor.

Leo O. Morin

Leo O. Morin, received a Silver Star for gallantry in action while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam in February 1968. On this date Private First Class Morin was serving as a rifleman with his company during a reconnaissance operation east of the village of Thu Duc. Crossing a rice paddy, an intensive hail of small arms, automatic weapons and machine gun fire caused friendly forces to remain in a perilously exposed position. With complete disregard for his personal safety, PFC Morin left the relative security of his position and began to maneuver toward a fortified enemy machine gun emplacement which had kept them pinned down. He was seriously wounded. However, disregarding his wounds, and undaunted by the intense fire, he continued to advance on the insurgent position. Coming within range, PFC Morin threw several well placed grenades inside the bunker, killing the insurgents and silencing their fire. His courageous, bold initiative, and selfless concern for his fellow soldiers, were instrumental in saving several American lives and directly contributed to the successful outcome of the encounter. “Morin’s unquestionable valor in close combat against numerically superior hostile forces is in keeping with the finest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 1st Infantry Division, and the US Army.”

Laurence A. Tryon

The Purple Heart is given to those who are either injured or killed in the line of duty. On Sept. 15, 1950, Corporal Laurence A. Tryon, “A” Company, 1st Engineer Battalion, First Marine Division, hit the beach at Inchon, Korea, on orders of General Douglas MacArthur. The assault was made on “Red Beach,” which was not a beach at all, but a rough wall of giant boulders. The Marines had to smash their light landing craft onto the rocks with the sea wall towering 12 feet above the waterline. The engineers had built wooden ladders so the troops could climb over the sea wall. They were greeted by heavy fire, but went on to capture Kimpo Airfield. After blazing a bloody path into Inchon, they went on to Seoul. While participating in the recapture of Seoul, Laurence Tryon was killed in action on Sept. 26, 1950, while voluntarily assaulting an enemy cave. In a letter to his mother, Mrs. Emma Brown, Lt. N.A. Canzona, Platoon Commander, wrote: “Larry was an excellent Marine, and that is no small achievement. In keeping with the high standards of the Corp, and proving himself more than equal to the trust and confidence which we, his comrades, had in him, he unhesitatingly went forward and performed his duty in the face of death. I doubt whether a higher tribute can be paid to any man.”

In addition to the names on these memorial plaques, there is a special list of those men who died in the service to their country. They deserve special recognition.

Walter R. Harrison, died January 5, 1918

Adolph Kehrli, died Oct. 31, 1918, buried in France

Charles A. Morehouse, died 1918, buried in France

Jasper N. Washburn, died Aug. 8, 1918, buried in France

Calvin J. Baldwin, died in 1944

Thomas Bassnet, died July 11, 1945

Edward J. Burrows, died 1942, buried in England

Neil Cunningham, died 1945

Charles R. Dougan, died 1944

Charles Noble, died 1945

John E. Shields, died 1944, buried in Belgium

Carl Utegg, died 1944, buried in Holland

Jack Fisher, died November 1951

Laurence A. Tryon, died Sept. 26, 1950

Gerald Carr, died Feb. 7, 1969, buried in Quincy Cemetery, Ripley