Palmerton native George H. Duell Jr., an Army Reserve Ambassador for Pennsylvania, was invited, with fellow Army Reserve Ambassadors and members of other organizations, to serve as an escort for Medal of Honor awardees during the recent public autograph day at the annual Medal of Honor Convention in Gettysburg.

Duell and others assisted with the flow and direction of the hundreds of visitors that came to the event as the visitors came to the various autograph locations.When possible, the Medal of Honor awardees are provided an escort that had some past connection with the recipients. In the case of Duell, he escorted his former commander, Major General Patrick Brady, Medal of Honor recipient, for his valor in Vietnam as a medical evacuation helicopter pilot.Brady flew 2,500 combat missions, and is credited with saving approximately 5,000 wounded during his service in Vietnam.When MG Brady was assigned as the Chief, Army Public Affairs in the Pentagon, Duell, an Army Colonel at that time, was his Division Chief for Policy & Plans.The autograph session event was also a time for the two to recall past service, share family updates, and enjoy the day together.The Congressional Medal of Honor Society's annual convention had about 50 Medal of Honor recipients on hand.Recipients of the United States' highest medal for valor traveled from across the country to share their unique bonds of heroism, sacrifice and patriotism; pay tribute to those who have gone before them; and welcome new recipients from recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.The convention included public and private activities for Medal of Honor recipients, including a battlefield concert featuring the "President's Own" United States Marine Corps band; a town hall forum featuring the recipients at Gettysburg College hosted by Fox News' Chris Wallace; and the Patriot Award Dinner.The Medal of Honor recipients visited local middle and high schools as part of the Society's Character Development Program, which educates students about the values rooted in the Medal of Honor; courage, integrity, sacrifice, commitment, citizenship and patriotism.The convention concluded with the passing of the Medal of Honor flag to the Medal of Honor Foundation's Knoxville, TN, delegation, who will host the convention in 2014.