ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The St. Clairsville post of the American Legion will officially unveil memorial plaques honoring two Medal of Honor recipients from Belmont County this evening.

In 2017, two portions of Interstate 70 in Belmont County were posthumously named in honor of Sgt. Sylvester Antolak and Sgt. Emile DeLeau Jr., both World War II soldiers from the St. Clairsville area.

On Feb. 1-2, 1945, Deleau served with the 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, and led a night attack on Oberhoffen, France, clearing four well-defended houses of Germans and inflicting severe enemy losses at the cost of his own life. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity. He also was awarded the French Medal of Honor.

On May 24, 1944, Antolak served with the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army and captured an enemy machine gun nest in Cisterna di Littoria, Italy, eliminating 20 Germans combatants, despite being shot multiple times. Antolak is buried in Sicily.

The section of interstate dedicated in Antolak’s honor is located about a mile east of St. Clairsville near the Ohio Valley Mall and Ohio Valley Plaza. Deleau’s signage was placed at the 221 mile marker, eastbound and westbound.

The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the armed forces of the United States.

St. Clairsville Legion Commander Larry Barnes said the plaque unveiling will take place at 6 p.m. and include relatives of Antolak and Deleau. A high number of American Legion members also are expected to attend.

He said each plaque will include a miniature copy of the honoree’s highway sign, provided by the state, as well as replicas of their medals made by post Adjutant Rick Johnson.

“I was committed to doing something with those signs, and just came up with a creative design,” Johnson said. “It was an honor for me to recognize these two individuals because of their heroic action.”

“It’s pretty nice having two Medal of Honor winners from right here,” Barnes said. “To win a Medal of Honor is something you can’t put into words … let alone having two, this close to St. Clairsville. … That’s very special.”

“There actually (were) five Medal of Honor winners from Belmont County. Three of them were from the Civil War,” Johnson said.

Antolak was among those featured in a Netflix series from 2018 focusing on Medal of Honor recipients.