Clarence E. Sasser signs autographs alongside his girlfriend, Patricia Washington, on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013 in Gettysburg, Pa. Pvt. First Class Sasser served in Vietnam as a combat medic. The Medal of Honor Society annual convention gives the public an opportunity to collect signatures of the men who have been honored by Congress for risking their lives beyond the call of duty in combat.

GETTYSBURG — The autograph hounds waiting expectantly in a hotel lobby weren't drawn by actors, musicians or politicians, but by a few dozen men whose rare and distinguished achievements have earned them the nation's highest military honor.

Nearly half of the 79 living recipients of the Medal of Honor attended the September gathering in Gettysburg, where some of its first recipients fought 150 years ago.

The Medal of Honor Society annual convention gives the public an opportunity to collect the signatures of the men who have been honored by Congress for risking their lives beyond the call of duty in combat, and dozens of people waited Sept. 19 for them to return from a luncheon at a nearby farm once owned by President Dwight Eisenhower.

Dave Loether, 62, a computer analyst from Pittsburgh, was hoping to add to the 55 signatures of Medal of Honor recipients he has collected on a U.S. Army flag. Loether knows many of their faces by sight — and their stories by heart.

“It's a piece of cloth with some ink on it — it's worthless.On the other hand, it's priceless,” Loether said.

The recipients' autographs sometimes end up on public auction sites, but Loether said he collects them as a hobby that began as a way to honor his sons in the military.

Recipients sat at tables ringing a hotel ballroom, including Clinton L. Romesha of Minot, N.D., who was presented the Medal of Honor in February for bravery in defending an Army outpost in Afghanistan four years ago.Eight soldiers died in the daylong barrage by the Taliban in the mountains near Pakistan, and Romesha was one of 22 wounded among the badly outnumbered Americans. He helped lead others to safety and retrieve the bodies of the U.S. dead.Donald E. Ballard, the society's treasurer, became a recipient for his bravery while serving as a Navy corpsman in Vietnam. He threw himself on a grenade while directing Marines to carry a wounded comrade to safety. The grenade did not detonate.Ballard said a major focus of the organization these days is its character development program for middle and high school students, promoting values like courage and sacrifice. Recipients were scheduled to meet with local students.Other scheduled events included a town hall forum at Gettysburg College, a concert on the Gettysburg battlefield and an award dinner.Next year's convention will be in Knoxville, Tenn.

Hershel W. Williams, a Medal of Honor recipient, talks with an attendee at an autograph session Sept. 19 at the Medal of Honor Society convention in Gettysburg. The public can collect signatures of the Medal recipients at the society’s annual gathering.Associated Press