The Dayton Region’s Walk of Fame added Thursday six new inductees, ranging from those who worked for peace and justice, to those who brought physical and artistic beauty to the city, to those who brought order and peace in the face of chaos and war.

“It is an honor to pay tribute to the new inductees who have helped enlighten and inspire us,” Idotha Bootsie Neal , president of Wright Dunbar Inc., told the more than 200 guests attending the 16th annual Walk of Fame induction at Sinclair Community College

Inducted were: Brother Raymond L. Fitz, Milton Kantor, Doris Ponitz, and posthumously John D. Siebenthaler, Dayton Police Chief Rudolph F. Wurstner and Marine Cpl. Tony Stein .

Deb Feldman, former Montgomery County administrator in presenting for Fitz, highlighted not only his 23 years as the longest serving UD president but also “his deep commitment for those marginalized, especially the children.”

“Our faith needs to do justice,” Fitz said. Then after a long pause added, “Thank you to our children and our mothers who have suffered so much.”

David Kantor told the audience some of his father’s history. The son of Russian immigrants, Milton Kantor was a small child when his parents opened a small market on the corner of Williams and West Third streets. Over the years, Milton Kantor and brothers expanded the store to a chain, then to a precursor to the big box groceries and finally to a grocery wholesaler employing more than 300 people, David Kantor said. For many years, Milton Kantor worked with then-U.S. Rep. Tony Hall on hunger issues. Over the years, Milton Kantor’s Victory Against Hunger has supported more than 30 food banks across the county.

The Walk of Fame is along West Third and passes in front of what was once the Kantor corner market. “A circle closes,” David Kantor said in accepting the honor for his wheelchair-bound father.

Doris Ponitz was praised as one of the community’s most active volunteers.

“Every time I said ‘yes’ I learned something,” she said. “The volunteers in this community are what makes it a special place.”

She traveled numerous times to Bosnia and Croatia during the years of conflict there. She has served on the boards of various arts and community groups, including the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.

Charles Shoemaker, former head of the Five Rivers Metro Parks, detailed the life of John D. Siebenthaler, who died in 1979. Siebenthaler’s family started with a 12-acre nursery 142 years ago, Today the nursery covers 450 acres. Siebenthaler’s focus was the propagation and discovery of new plants and held the first patent for a shade tree, the Moraine Honey Locus, Shoemaker said. And his company’s work continues to grace the city.

“He helped define the texture of our community,” Shoemaker said.

Police Chief Richard Biehl presented for Chief Rudolph Wurstner, saying he was in awe of the man’s 47-year career with the department, 24 years as chief. Biehl said Wurstner became chief in 1925 when his predecessor was fired for being unfit. Wurstner brought a sense of calmness, fairness and professionalism to the department, Biehl said. As a police officer, Wurstner was on duty during the Flood of 1913, World War I. As chief, he guided the department through Prohibition, the Great Depression, World War II and labor unrest, Biehl said.

On his retirement in 1949, Wurstner said his proudest accomplishment was not the crooks arrested, but that he gained the “confidence of the community I served.”

Like Milton Kantor, Wurstner has a connection to West Third Street. It was the beat he walked as a patrolman. He died in 1969.

Retired Marine Master Sgt. Jim Snyder presented for Stein by simply reading the 1945 Medal of Honor commendation. It described how Cpl. Stein took out enemy emplacements that pinned down Marines with murderous fire. Using a machine gun he had crafted from a discarded Navy plane wing gun — and with disregard to his own safety — Stein identified and destroyed pillbox after pillbox. When he ran out of ammunition, he ran back to the beach to get more. With each trip to the beach, he carried or assisted a wounded Marine to safety. Eight times he returned to the beach with a wounded Marine, picked up more ammo and returned to the fight — all the time under whithering fire.

The ninth time he was wounded and evacuated to an aid station.

Days later, at Stein’s insistence, he returned to his unit. Nine days after he was wounded, Stein was killed as the Marines stormed Suribachi.