First time visitors this year include Marines H.C. Barney Barnum, Robert Modrzejewski, and Duane Dewey.

Then 1st Lt Barnum was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions December 18, 1965, while serving as an artillery forward observer in South Vietnam.

His unit came under extremely accurate enemy fire which inflicted heavy casualties and mortally wounded his commanding officer and the company radio man.

He strapped on the radio, immediately assumed command of the rifle company, reorganized the troops and led their attack on enemy positions. At the same time Barnum controlled the air strikes against the firmly entrenched enemy while skillfully directing one platoon in a succesful counterattack in the key enemy positions.

Colonel Barnum was the first Marine officer to receive the nation's highest award in Vietnam. He currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Reserve Affairs, a position he has held since July 23, 2001.

Colonel Modrzejewski was awarded the Medal of Honor for his sustained actions from July 15-18, 1966 during Operation Hastings in South Vietnam.

Then Capt. Modrzejewski led his company against a numerically superior enemy force which counterattacked in an effort to retake the vital supply area over a three-day period. In the first series of attacks, the enemy assaulted repeatedly in overwhelming numbers but each time was repulsed by the gallant Marines.

Constantly exposed to enemy fire, and despite being painfully wounded, he crawled 200 meters to provide critically needed ammunition to several postions during the ongoing battle.

Attacked the third day by a regiment-sized force, K Company repelled the aggressive enemy unit due to Modrzejewski's skill at directing air and artillery strikes at close range which helped break the back of the vicious and fanatical enemy onslaught.

Marine Duane Dewey distinguished himself during the Korean War by smothering an enemy hand grenade with his own body to save the lives of his comrades.

Corporal Dewey, a machine-gunner, was being treated for wounds along with his assistant gunner during a fierce night attack by North Koreans, April 16, 1952, when an enemy grenade landed in their midst. Dewey immediately pulled the attending Navy corpsman to the ground and, shouting a warning to other Marines around him, smothered the explosion with his body, personally absorbing it's full force to save his comrades from injury or possible death.

He was the first to receive a Medal of Honor from President Eisenhower who told the young Marine, "you must have a body of steel."

Additional returning Recipients confirmed for the celebration include: United States Army Recipients --Vietnam War - Jim Taylor, John Baca, and David McNerney.

United States Marine Corps Recipients - Vietnam War - John McGinty and Richard Pittman.

United States Navy Recipients - Vietnam War - Don Ballard and Mike Thornton.

And for the third time in attendance is WWII veteran Herschel Woody Williams, 86, the last of the 27 Recipients of the Battle of Iwo Jima.

On the third day of the pivotal battle, Williams' marines faced a network of reinforced concrete pillboxes, buried mines, and black volcanic sands which blocked the American advance.

Corporal Williams, armed with a flame thrower, daringly went forward alone to eliminate the devastating machine gun fire from the well-fortified Japanese bunkers.

Covered by only four riflemen, he fought desperately for four hours under terrific enemy fire and repeatedly returned to his own lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain additional flame throwers, struggling back frequently to the rear of hostile emplacements, to wipe out one position after another.

One occasion saw him daringly mounted on a pillbox to insert the nozzle of his flame thrower through the air vent, killing the occupants and silencing the gun.

On another, he grimly charged enemy riflemen who attempted to stop him with bayonets and destroyed them with a burst of flame from his weapon.

He retired at the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 4 in 1969.

Tuesday, April 6
Travel day for the Recipients who will arrive at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and be welcomed at the USO canteen where they will meet servicemen and women departing for, or returning from war zones in the Middle East.

As many as 200 Partriot Guard Rider motorcyclists, each flying a large American flag, will escort the Recipients' limousine to Gainesville.

Wednesday, April 7
The first day of activities for the Recipients will include a visit to the Morton Museum, tours of the local historical sites, including former WWII U.S. Army Camp Howze where tens of thousands of troops trained for the invasion of Europe.

Recipients will meet with city workers for lunch, and that evening with a group of youth involved in 4-H, scouting, and the FFA.

Thursday, April 8
Students from throughout Cooke County will be able to hear several of the Recipients speak in school forums to be held at the First State Bank Center for the Performing Arts on the North Central Texas College (NCTC) campus. The sessions will start at 9:30 and 10:15 am.

The recipients will be honored with a special program at Lee Elementary School at 1:00 pm.

An evening barbeque dinner and social hour, open to the public, will be held starting at 6:30 pm at the NCTC field house. Tickets are $15.00 each.

Friday, April 9
A second round of NCTC student forum sessions will start at 9:00 am and 10:15 am.

Starting at 2:00 pm, the public is invited to attend a ceremony at Gainesville's Homegrown Hero Walking Trail which commemorates the visit of each Recipient by planting a red oak tree fronted by an engraved granite plaque personalized for each honored guest.

The Medal of Honor Banquet will begin at 6:00 pm at the Gainesville Civic Center with former Fox News journalist John Gibson serving as the Master of Ceremonies; the dinner program starts at 7:00 pm.

All tickets for the Medal of Honor Weekend banquet will go on sale February 17th.

Saturday, April 10
The public is encouraged to attend the Medal of Honor Weekend Parade, the largest in county history, which will get underway promptly at 10:00 am. The parade route is east on W California Street from Rusk to Lindsay Boulevard.

The public is invited to a Recipient book signing and autograph session starting at 1:30 pm at the Gainesville Civic Center.

The Recipients will depart Sunday, April 11.

All tickets for the Medal of Honor Weekend banquet will go on sale February 17th.

Program founder, Don Pettigrew, said that due to the exceedingly high demand for tickets and the limited space in the Gainesville City Civic Center, the process will be different this year.

Those interested in purchasing tickets are limited to a 10-seat table ($250) or an eight-seat Recipient table ($500) in an effort to increase availability of the limited seating. Individual tickets remain at $25.00.

More than a dozen recipients are expected to attend, yielding the same number of Recipient tables for purchase.

Tickets go on sale 1-3 pm Wednesday, February 17, and Thursday - Saturday, February 18-20, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm at the Gainesville Civic Center.

Tickets must be picked up and paid for in person and cannot be held without payment -- cash, check, Visa, or Mastercard.

Tables can be selected on a first-come, first-served basis and the names of all guests must be provided.

Pettigrew stated that this is the fairest process possible and given the demand for tickets, ease of seating to ensure there are no empty seats. He added that the banquet has sold out every year.

Area residents will have several opportunities to meet the Recipients during the four days of scheduled activities which will include a parade, barbecue sandwich dinner, autograph signing and tree planting.

For further information, contact 668-4530.