Earlier this month, the city of Linda Vista decided to pay tribute to former resident and Medal of Honor Vietnam veteran John P. Baca. On Saturday, Dec. 2, a long strip along Linda Vista Road was dedicated and name after Baca.

“I don’t know what to say,” the 68-year-old said at the ceremony, per The San Diego Union-Tribune. “I guess everyone (being) here says it all.” 

Baca, drafted right out of Kearny High School, received his Medal of Honor after putting his helmet and body over a grenade in 1970, saving eight men in his army unit by smothering the explosion. Baca sustained severe injuries to his abdomen from grenade shrapnel and recovered in Balboa Park at the Navy hospital.

Chairman of the Linda Vista Recreation Council and former Marine Doug Beckham said, “Johnny was just a regular guy. Got drafted and did a good job of being a soldier. You know, some people are heroes, and some aren’t. But John’s always been a good guy.”

Currently, Baca works with Gold Star families and advises the Snowball Express charity, which has dedicated itself to the children of fallen troops since 9/11. Baca also has a park named after him in Huntington Beach, where he also used to reside, as well as a post office at Camp Pendleton that bears his name.