Medal of Honor recipient to speak at school

A World War II combat veteran and recipient of the Medal of Honor will be a guest speaker at a pre-Veterans Day event at 10 a.m. today at Mariners Christian School, 300 Fischer Ave., Costa Mesa.

Walter D. Ehlers is one of 94 living Medal of Honor recipients.

Altogether, 3,448 veterans who served in the nation’s wars dating to the Civil War have received the medal.

“The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States,” according to www.cmohs.org.

Ehlers received the award in 1944 for gallantry under fire near Goville, France, in the days following the D-Day landings in Normandy.

House Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) is expected to attend.

— Imran Vittachi