Wallingford receives Silver Star banner

Last year Sen. Wayne Wallingford stood and watched a select number of Missouri veterans walk across a stage and receive recognition for their service. This year, he was standing on that stage.

Gov. Jay Nixon on Wednesday presented the local senator and three other veterans who incurred injury or illness as they served their country with the Silver Star banner. Silver Star Families of America Day, which is May 1, began in 2009 after Nixon signed a bill designating that day as a time to honor injured members of the armed forces in Missouri.

Wallingford served as a navigator on a B-52 bomber during the Vietnam War and as an intelligence officer during the first Gulf War.

He said he was surprised when he discovered he would be receiving the Silver Star banner.

"It was quite an honor to be recognized by the governor," Wallingford said.

The greatest honor was standing on the stage next to true heroes, he added. Other honorees included James Shipley, of Tipton, Missouri, who served as an airplane mechanic with a unit of the Tuskegee Airmen, also known as the "Red Tails," during World War II; Bill Stroud, of Columbia, Missouri, who served in the Army during the Korean War as an infantry rifleman; and Edward Gross, of Jefferson City, Missouri, who served as a radio operator and machine-gunner on an Army Air Corps B-25 bomber in the South Pacific during World War II.

Wallingford is not the first in his family to join the military. His father served in the Navy and his grandfather is a World War II veteran, so he realizes the importance of recognizing the men and women who served.

"It's very nice, especially for the World War II veterans because they're getting older and we need to recognize them for their sacrifices and courage that they exhibited in World War II," he said.

After the ceremony was complete, Wallingford also received recognition from his peers in the Senate. After attending the ceremony and discovering his history, Sen. Mike Kehoe of Jefferson City, Missouri, who sits behind Wallingford on the Senate floor, later that day stood up and shared the local senator's achievement with the others.

"They all stood up and gave me a standing ovation, which nearly brought tears to my eyes and seemed to go on forever," said Wallingford. "It was a really humbling experience."

srinehart@semissourian.com

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