William Pittenger (1840-1904) of Fallbrook was part of the team that caused the creation of the Medal of Honor and was in the group of individuals that were the first recipients.
Medal of Honor Day celebrates the heroism of the recipients of the Medal of Honor. Only 3,526 Americans have been honored in this way since the medal was created in the early 1860s.
From Wikipedia: The holiday was chosen to be celebrated on March 25 to honor the 23 men who participated in the Great Locomotive Chase and received Medals of Honor for it, particularly William Bensinger, Robert Buffum, Elihu H. Mason, Jacob Parrott, William Pittenger, and William H. H. Reddick, who received the first six Medals of Honor on March 25, 1863. In 1890 [Pittenger] moved with his family to Fallbrook, California.
He served as pastor of the Methodist church there from 1893 to 1896 and from 1898 to 1899. He bought a home on a 20-acre property; the home is now known as the Pittenger House and is owned by the Fallbrook Historical Society. The family also had a home in town on Fig Street near the church; that home still stands and is now an Alzheimer’s day care center. Pittenger helped to organize a high school district in Fallbrook and served as president of the school board.
He died in 1904 and was buried at Odd Fellows Cemetery in Fallbrook on April 25, 1904.
