Two individuals with local ties have received the Medal of Honor, the highest award for valor in the United States military.

James Daniel Gardner, also known as Gardiner, was a free black man born in Gloucester County in September 16, 1839.

He crossed the York River in 1863 to enlist in the Union Army at Yorktown and became a member of the U.S. Colored Troops. He trained at Fort Monroe and, as a member of the 2nd North Carolina Colored Volunteers, was attached to Gen. Edward Wild’s African Brigade in Norfolk and Portsmouth. This unit was eventually absorbed into the Army of the James commanded by Gen. Benjamin Butler.

Butler launched an attack at Chaffin’s Bluff on the James River in September 1864. Gardner’s unit was involved in the heavy fighting against Confederate forces.

His Medal citation reads that Gardner “Rushed in advance of his brigade, shot a rebel officer who was on the parapet rallying his men, and then ran him through with his bayonet.”

After the war, Gardner did not return to his home state. He died in Clark’s Summit, Pa., on Sept. 29, 1905, the 41st anniversary of the day on which he earned the Medal of Honor, and is buried at Calvary Crest Cemetery in Ottumwa, Iowa.

In 2005, through the advocacy of Dr. Wesley Wilson of Gloucester, the Gloucester Board of Supervisors honored its native son by placement of a monument bearing his story on the Gloucester Court Green.

The other Medal of Honor recipient with local ties received his Medal for valor and bravery in Italy during World War II.

Van T. Barfoot, though born in Mississippi, married a Mathews girl (Norma Davis) and after his post-war years living near Richmond, is buried at the H.C. Smither Memorial Cemetery in Hudgins.

Barfoot (1919-2012) enlisted in the Army in 1940.

Posted to the European theater, he was a technical sergeant fighting in Northern Italy when his heroic actions on May 23, 1944 led to his receiving the Medal of Honor.

He and his unit were described as assaulting entrenched German forces. According to the Congressional Naming Commission, “When they came under attack from machine gun positions in the foothills of the Alps, Barfoot moved out alone, heading for the enemy flank. Crawling to the edge of the first machine gun emplacement, Barfoot threw a grenade that killed two and wounded three of the crew, disabling the position. Securing the three prisoners, Barfoot advanced on a second machine gun nest which he attacked with tommy-gun fire, killing two more enemy soldiers and taking another three prisoner. Continuing his solitary assault, Barfoot encountered a third machine gun emplacement and compelled the crew to surrender.”

Barfoot continued to clean up the area, taking 17 prisoners and later in the day, with a bazooka, faced a German tank counterattack while moving out ahead of his men. He fired, disabling the lead tank, causing two others to turn away, destroyed a field artillery piece, found two wounded American soldiers, and brought them across exposed lines to safety.

He was subsequently commissioned as a second lieutenant and, when he learned he would be awarded the Medal of Honor, chose to receive it in the field so his soldiers could attend. Lt. General Alexander Patch presented the award “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.”

He reached the rank of colonel, remaining in the Army until 1974.

A permanent, visible honor is also being considered.

The Congressional Naming Commission, charged with changing the identify of military facilities now bearing the names of Confederate figures, has recommended renaming Fort Pickett in Nottoway County as Fort Barfoot. The recommendation is working its way through bureaucracy.