Parma to unveil historical marker honoring Medal of Honor recipient Frank Herda
PARMA, Ohio — A new historical marker honoring Congressional Medal of Honor recipient and Parma native Specialist Fourth Class Frank A. Herda will be unveiled Friday at Parma Veterans Memorial Park, recognizing the Vietnam War hero’s sacrifice and ensuring his legacy remains part of the city’s history.
State Rep. Sean Patrick Brennan (D-Parma) will join other elected officials, like Parma Mayor Timothy DeGeeter, as well as veterans, community leaders and residents for an 11 a.m. ceremony at the park, formerly known as State Road Park, according to a news release.
The historical marker project was headed by Brennan and funded through contributions from community members and American Legion Post 572 in Parma.
Herda served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. On June 29, 1968, he was gravely injured after shielding fellow soldiers from an enemy grenade blast, saving the others’ lives.
His actions earned him the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award for valor.
Brennan said the new marker will help preserve Herda’s story.
The historical marker is not the only effort underway to recognize Herda’s service. Brennan introduced House Bill 607 in 2025, legislation that would designate a portion of State Route 94, also known as State Road, as the “Specialist Fourth Class Frank A. Herda, Medal of Honor Recipient, Memorial Highway.”
The measure, introduced with bipartisan support, remains pending in the Ohio Legislature.
Brennan said both the highway proposal and the historical marker serve as reminders of the sacrifices made by veterans and their families.
“The highway designation and this historical marker are about more than honoring one individual,” Brennan said in a statement. “They are about making sure we never forget the tremendous price that our veterans and their families have paid for our freedom. Every time someone sees Frank Herda’s name, I hope they take a moment to learn his story and remember the courage he showed on behalf of all of us.”
Herda died in 2023 at 76. According to his obituary, Herda joined the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division and deployed to Vietnam at 20. After returning home, Herda attended Cuyahoga Community College’s Western Campus and spent 33 years as a systems analyst for the U.S. Department of Defense at Cleveland’s Admiral Kidd Center.
A member of the inaugural Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame class in 1992, Herda also pursued a lifelong interest in science fiction and published the fantasy novel “The Cup of Death: Chronicles of the Dragons of the Magi” in 2007, Herda’s obituary states. The Admiral Kidd Center dedicated a conference room in his honor in 2017.