Holly Zachariah

The Columbus Dispatch

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The crowd stayed silent as the harrowing stories of heroism were read from the stage.

 A wounded soldier crawling through Vietnam jungles to get to injured brothers, a Marine diving on a grenade and sacrificing himself to save comrades, a staff sergeant from the legendary Night Stalkers commando team who lost his life when the enemy shot down the team’s helicopter over the mountains of Afghanistan.

Other men being honored fought firefights in Vietnam rice paddies, manned the guns from the doors of helicopters, and undertook dangerous missions to rescue downed pilots. All were among 15 veterans inducted into the Ohio Military Hall of Fame for Valor during a ceremony at the Ohio Statehouse atrium Friday.