Maj. Gen. John C. Harris Jr. announced that seven Ohio Army National Guard facilities will be dedicated in honor of former members who served during the 20th century. 

These selections were made as part of the Army Memorial Program, which provides a permanent, lasting honor to distinguished personnel who served with valor and distinction.

The seven people were chosen from nominations received by members of the Ohio National Guards as well as outside organizations. The Armory Memorialization Board, chaired by Brig. Gen. Matthew S. Woodruff, reviewed the nominations and made a recommendation to the adjutant general for approval. 

Dedication ceremonies for each facility will occur over the next few years, with specific ceremony dates to be determined later on. For some facilities the ceremony will be held at the same time as reopening events tied to significant renovation and upgrades of the building.

The selections announced today are as follows.

Lebanon: Col. Gordon Roberts Armory - Roberts was raised in Lebanon and graduated Lebanon high school in 1968. He received the Medal of Honor in Vietnam in 1969. Roberts was commissioned in the Ohio National Guard in 1989 as a medical service officer and served with the 112th Medical Brigade until returning to the Regular Army in 1991. He retired from the army in 2012 as a colonel.

Wooster: Capt. Fred C. Redick Armory - Redick was born in 1881 in Wooster, and enlisted in the local company of the Ohio National Guard in 1900. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1911 and served with the Wooster unit in active service along the Mexican border in 1916 during World War I. He earned the Distinguished Service Cross in September of 1918 during the Meuse-Argonne offensive. 

He was the only Wayne County Solider to receive that award during World War I. He served as the postmaster of Wooster from 1932 until his death in 1935.

Lorain: Capt. Eugene M. Socha Armory - Socha was raised in Lorain, and graduated from Lorain High School in 1938. He joined the national guard in 1939 while enrolled at Baldwin Wallace College. His unit was inducted into federal service in 1940 and Socha was commissioned in 1941. In April of 1945, Socha was awarded the Silver Star while serving in the Philippines with the 145th Infantry. Socha graduated medical school after the war, and started a general medical practice in Amherst for 36 years.

He stayed in Lorain County until his death in 2008.

Alliance: Capt. Fred A. Kochli Armory - Kochli was born in Alliance in 1861, and enlisted in the local company of the Ohio National Guard in 1911. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1916. He served with the Alliance unit in active service along the US Mexican Border during World War I. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in September of 1918 during the Meuse-Argonne offensive and attack on Montfaucon, France. 

Kochli was severely wounded during the war, and lost his right arm. After the war, Kochli was heavily involved with veterans issues. He died on September 13, 1967.

Woodlawn: Col. Frederick W. Galbraith Training and Community Center - Galbraith was born in 1874 in Massachusetts. He moved to Cincinnati in 1904 and joined the Ohio National Guard in 1916. Galbraith was commissioned a major in the 1st Infantry Regiment and later took command of the regiment. During the first World War, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Belgium War Cross, French Croix de Guerre, and French Legion of Honor while commanding the 147th Infantry.

Galbraith was a member of the original American legion committee that met in France. He also organized the American Legion Department of Ohio, serving as the first state commander. He died in an auto accident in 1921.

Mansfield: Lt. Col. Albert L. Allen Jr. Readiness Center - Allen was born in 1920 in Mansfield. He graduated Mansfield High School in 1938, and was drafted into the army in 1941. He was assigned to Company C, 192nd Tank Battalion, an Ohio National Guard unit in active service at Fort Knox, Ky.

As a sergeant, Allen was awarded the Silver Star Medal during the Battle of Bataan in December of 1941. He was wounded three times. Allen survived the Bataan Death March, and was a prisoner of war from 1942 until 1945. Allen retired from the Army Reserve in 1973 as a lieutenant colonel and was active in numerous civic and veterans groups in Mansfield. He died in 2004.

North Canton: Governor Thomas J. Herbert Army Aviation Support Facility - A Cleveland native, Herbert was born in 1894. At the start of World War I, he enlisted in the Army and was commissioned in the Air Service in 1918.

Flying with the Royal Air Force in France, Herbert was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Start Citation, and the British Distinguished Flying Cross. He was commissioned a major in the Ohio National Guard in 1927 and was the first ever commander of the first flying until in Ohio National Guard history. Herbert served as the Ohio attorney general from 1939 to 1945. In 1947 he was elected Ohio's 56th governor. 

His final civic position was as the 116th Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. He served from 1957 until 1962. Herbert passed away in 1974.