He was a World War II veteran who spent about three months in a German prison camp and went on to a distinguished career in biochemistry.

Still, Middletown resident Leonard Feinberg was pleased but slightly puzzled about why he was getting the Legion of Honor Award Sunday afternoon from The Chapel of the Four Chaplains at the Naval Business Center in Philadelphia.

“There were 12 million people in World War II, they could be giving these out every day,” said Feinberg, 84.

Also receiving the award during a brief ceremony at the chapel were local veterans David Pearl of Tullytown, and Edward Sabol, Kenneth Melkun and Fernando Tellado of Bristol Township. Melkun was unable to attend the ceremony.

The award recognizes people “whose lives model the kind of selfless service to community, nation and humanity without regard to race, religion or creed” according to chapel officials.

All five recipients were nominated for the award by Vietnam War veteran Jesse Hill of Bristol Township.

Feinberg, who lives in the Forsythia Gate section of Levittown in Middletown with his wife Abbey and daughter Mindy, enlisted in the Army in 1943 and became a medic. He served in the D-Day invasion before being captured in January of 1945.

“Our commander screwed up and we ended up behind enemy lines,” said Feinberg. “I hid in some bushes for a while but then ran into some mortar fire, got hit in the leg and was taken. I managed to get away after a while. It wasn't the Great Escape or anything, but I got out, spent some time with a German family and got to a hospital.”

He later got his doctorate degree in biochemistry from Penn State University and still works in that field.

Pearl, 43, was an Air Force mechanic who served in both Iraqi conflicts and is now a quality assurance representative for the Department of Defense. He is chief of the Tullytown Fire Company and an administrative representative for the Delaware Valley Vietnam Veterans.

“There is no greater honor than to be recognized for helping others,” he said of the award.

In addition to receiving the award, Pearl also presided over the ceremony and handed out the awards to the other recipients.

Sabol, 57, called the award “an unbelievable honor.” A Marine during the Vietnam War, he teaches physics at the Hun School in Princeton and lives in the Fairless Hills section of Bristol Township. He's an administrative representative for the Delaware Valley Vietnam Veterans.

Tellado, 63, was with the Army Security Agency during the Vietnam War. He is retired from his fulltime vocation and is an aid and assistance officer for the Delaware Valley Vietnam Veterans.

“This award is a privilege, and it's an honor to belong to a special group of people,” said Tellado, who lives in the Orangewood section of Levittown in Bristol Township.

Melkun, 61, served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War and is retired from the U.S. Postal Service. A resident of the Stonybrook section of Levittown in Bristol Township, he is a chaplain and administrative representative for the Delaware Valley Vietnam Veterans.

“This award was nothing I looked for but it's nice that other people said "you did a good job.'” said Melkun in a telephone conversation.

Better coordination and communication at every level are needed if this country is to improve the way it responds to disasters, whether they are floods along the Delaware River or hurricanes in Hancock County, Miss.

That was the common theme of testimony Monday from nearly a dozen people.

Congressman Patrick Murphy, D-8, held a congressional field hearing to discuss ways to improve response to disasters at the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center just outside Doylestown, which attracted about 50 people.

The 11 people who testified covered a range of topics, from efforts after Hurricane Katrina to general disaster response to addressing floods along the Delaware River. Though the particular disasters differed, one theme was constant: Much more could be done, much faster and better, if information got to the right people at the right time.

“There is no coordination between federal and state governments and the private sector. It just doesn't exist,” Grover Friend said during a break in the hearing. “Americans are wonderful people. In times of disaster they want to help. The problem is knowing how to do it.”

Friend, former head of Calkins Newspapers, and Mike Scobey, publisher of The Intelligencer, a sister paper to the Courier Times, testified on behalf of the Bucks Mont Katrina Relief Project. The local group of business and civic leaders has worked for two years to help rebuild Hancock County, Miss., after it was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Bringing together people who needed help and people who could help was made easier by a Web site, Friend said, recommending that governmental leaders establish a site after a disaster to do the same. That way, towns that need help could post their needs online, and people in undamaged communities could log on to see what they can offer, he said.

David Pearl, chief of the Tullytown Fire Co., testified that more volunteers would be able to travel to places such as Pearlington, Miss., in Hancock County, as he and three others did after Katrina, if the federal government helped pay for their travel expenses.

Though much of the hearing focused on the Bucks Mont Katrina group's efforts, officials from the United Way of Bucks County, Liberty Lutheran Services, the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army discussed how they are preparing for both immediate emergency response and long-term rebuilding.

Two others addressed the recent floods on the Delaware River.

Yardley manager Bill Winslade recommended many steps to address the flooding, from reviewing New York City's water needs with an eye toward reducing the levels maintained in the city's water reservoirs to giving more warning time for people downstream to move themselves and their belongings out of the water's path.

New Hope resident Gail Pedrick spoke of the frustrations flood victims feel after repeated losses. Among other things, she also recommended a better warning system to let people know when flood waters are on their way.

Along with Murphy, state Reps. Dave Steil, R-31, and Scott Petri, R-178, attended part of the hearing.

Murphy represents the residents of Bucks County, some districts of Abington, Upper Dublin and Upper Moreland in Montgomery County and two wards in Philadelphia.

The Tullytown Fire Company will receive a $40,850 federal Assistance to Firefighters grant to eliminate carbon monoxide fumes from the firehouse during truck startups.

Fire Chief David Pearl said he was notified this week of the grant, which is a slice of $1.2 million distributed to 20 fire companies throughout the state by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Tullytown will use its money to buy PlymoVent units for four fire trucks. The units attach to the exhaust pipes of fire trucks to trap fumes. The hose automatically detaches from the exhaust pipe as the truck leaves the firehouse.

The hoses are reattached by firefighters before the trucks back into their bays.

There are certain carcinogens in diesel fuel, but the worst emissions are during truck startups and when they are backed up into the firehouse. Tullytown had applied for the FEMA grant for the system for five years and finally received it.

“Getting federal grants is not an easy job,” the chief said.

Pearl said fire company officials will sign the contract with PlymoVent shortly and the units should be installed and operational by March.

Since 2001, the AFG program has awarded $3.3 billion for fire companies and first responder organizations to buy equipment for personal protection of emergency workers, vehicles and fire prevention activities.

The fire company also has personnel assist ambulance crews by responding to medical emergencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week.