Medal of Honor Memorial Park Construction
Medal of Honor Memorial & Honor Park Construction
Media Release Contact: Karla Garrett Harshaw
October 1, 2026 937-402-0529
Construction is Underway for the Medal of Honor Memorial and Honor Park!
The construction of a Medal of Honor Memorial and Honor Park paying homage to all veterans of the
Miami Valley is underway. The project will be brought to completion with help from community
organizations, businesses and residents.
“This will be a magnificent tribute to the approximately 41 area recipients of the Medal of Honor, the
highest U.S. military award given for valor in combat,” said Karla Garrett Harshaw, board member of
Wright Dunbar, Inc. and coordinator of the undertaking. “We also will honor the more than 110,000
veterans who live in our region. They put their lives at risk to keep us safe and to preserve our
democracy.”
Initiated by Wright Dunbar, Inc. (WDI), the memorial will be the centerpiece of a Dayton city-owned
park located at the intersection of the Third Street Bridge and Edwin C. Moses Blvd., the gateway to the
historic Wright Dunbar District. The park sits diagonally across from the spectacular Wright Flyer III
sculpture, significant since the 1909 Wright Military Flyer was the world’s first military airplane. Since
Ohio has the sixth largest concentration of veterans in the country, and, the Dayton region has the
second highest concentration of veterans in the state, the park’s location is a fitting site for the
memorial.
This volunteer effort has raised more than $1.5 million of its nearly $1.8 million goal and is fundraising to
close the gap. Among numerous donations that have been received, the project received $500,000 from
Dayton City Commissioners and recently was approved for a $350,000 Ohio Capital Fund award. The
Dayton Foundation, the project’s fiduciary, will invest $300,000 of funds raised for long-term
maintenance of the park that will be managed by WDI. An additional $300,000 is needed to bring the
project to completion. That will include the refurbishment of four WWI memorials and Gold Star
Mothers memorials that presently exist in the park.
Honor Park will recognize Medal of Honor (MOH) recipients and veterans from Montgomery, Greene,
Clark, Butler, Warren, Miami, Darke, and Preble counties. The names of the Medal of Honor recipients
will be inscribed on the monument, and visitors will be able to access their personalized biographies
online through a QR code. Also, noteworthy military achievements by other prominent local veterans
will be accessible online.
Among the most recent Medal of Honor recipients from our area are Airman First Class William H.
Pitsenbarger, Army Specialist Four Joseph Guy LaPointe Jr., and Corporal Anthony Michael Stein. Medal
of Honor recipient Sargent First Class Sammy Lee Davis, a native Daytonian, survived combat in Vietnam
and will be attending the Medal of Honor unveiling ceremony.
“Most of us have a relative or friend who served in the military,” Garrett Harshaw says. “So, we hope the
community will donate to support this project and will visit the park when it is completed. In our
community that has such a strong military and veterans presence, we expect that the Honor Park will
become a popular historical park.”
An unveiling is planned for November 13, two days after Veterans Day, this year as we observe the 250th
anniversary of our nation.
For additional information, call 937-402-0529 or search https://bit.ly/medal-of-honor-memorial for
ways to donate.
Wright Dunbar, Inc.
1139 W 3rd Street
Suite 200
Dayton, OH 45402
www.wdbd.org
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