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Wikipedia

Medal of Honor

January 26, 2023

This article is about the U.S. military award. For the video game franchise, see Medal of Honor (video game series). For other uses, see Medal of Honor (disambiguation).

The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor.[1][7] The medal is normally awarded by the president of the United States, but as it is presented "in the name of the United States Congress", it is sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Congressional Medal of Honor".[2][8][9][10]

Medal of Honor
Medals of honor of the three military departments
TypeMilitary medal with neck ribbon
(decoration)
Awarded forConspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty[1][2][a]
Presented byThe president of the United States in the name of the United States Congress[3]
EligibilityUnited States Armed Forces service members
StatusCurrently awarded
EstablishedNaval Service: December 21, 1861
Army: July 12, 1862
Air and Space Forces: April 14, 1965
First awardedMarch 25, 1863[b]
Last awardedJuly 5, 2022[4]
Total awarded posthumously618[5]
Total recipients3,525[6]


Precedence
Next (lower)Army: Distinguished Service Cross
Naval Service: Navy Cross
Air and Space Forces: Air Force Cross
Coast Guard: Coast Guard Cross

There are three distinct variants of the medal: one for the Army, awarded to soldiers, one for the Naval Service, awarded to sailors, marines, and coast guardsmen, and one for the Air and Space Forces, awarded to airmen and guardians.[1][11] The Medal of Honor was introduced for the Naval Service in 1861, soon followed by the Army's version in 1862. The Air Force used the Army's version until they received their own distinctive version in 1965.[12] The Medal of Honor is the oldest continuously issued combat decoration of the United States Armed Forces.[13] The president typically presents the Medal of Honor at a formal ceremony intended to represent the gratitude of the American people, with posthumous presentations made to the primary next of kin.[14][15][16]

According to the Medal of Honor Historical Society of the United States, there have been 3,530 Medals of Honor awarded to 3,511 individuals since the decoration's creation, with over 40% awarded for actions during the American Civil War.[6] In 1990, Congress designated March 25 annually as "National Medal of Honor Day".[17]

History

 
Medal of Honor (without the suspension ribbon) awarded to Seaman John Ortega in 1864.
 
Medal of Honor awarded posthumously in 1866 to John Morehead Scott, one of the Andrews Raiders

During the first year of the Civil War (1861–1865), a proposal for a battlefield decoration for valor was submitted to Lieutenant General Winfield Scott, the Commanding General of the United States Army, by Lieutenant Colonel Edward D. Townsend, an assistant adjutant at the Department of War and Scott's chief of staff. Scott, however, was strictly against medals being awarded, which was the European tradition. After Scott retired in October 1861, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles adopted the idea of a decoration to recognize and honor distinguished naval service.[18]

On December 9, 1861, Iowa Senator James W. Grimes, Chairman on the Committee on Naval Affairs,[19] submitted Bill S. 82 (12 Stat. 329–330)[20] during the Second Session of the 37th Congress, "An Act to further promote the Efficiency of the Navy". The bill included a provision (Chap. 1, Sec. 7) for 200 "medals of honor",[21] "to be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other seaman-like qualities during the present war, ..."[22] On December 21, the bill was passed and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. Secretary Welles directed the Philadelphia Mint to design the new military decoration.[23][24][25] On May 15, 1862, the United States Department of the Navy ordered 175 medals ($1.85 each) from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia with "Personal Valor" inscribed on the back of each one.[26]

On February 15, 1862, Senator Henry Wilson, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia, introduced a resolution for a Medal of Honor for the Army. The resolution (37th Congress, Second Session; Resolution No. 52, 12 Stat. 623–624) was approved by Congress and signed into law on July 12, 1862 ("A Resolution to provide for the Presentation of "Medals of Honor" to the Enlisted Men of the Army and Volunteer Forces who have distinguished, or may distinguish, themselves in Battle during the present Rebellion"). This measure provided for awarding a medal of honor "to such non-commissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other soldier-like qualities during the present insurrection." During the war, Townsend would have some medals delivered to some recipients with a letter requesting acknowledgment of the "Medal of Honor". The letter, written and signed by Townsend on behalf of the Secretary of War, stated that the resolution was "to provide for the presentation of medals of honor to the enlisted men of the army and volunteer forces who have distinguished or may distinguish themselves in battle during the present rebellion."[27][c] By mid-November the Department of War contracted with Philadelphia silversmith William Wilson and Son, who had been responsible for the Navy's design, to prepare 2,000 medals for the Army ($2.00 each) to be cast at the mint.[28] The Army's version had "The Congress to" written on the back of the medal. Both versions were made of copper and coated with bronze, which "gave them a reddish tint".[29][30]

On March 3, 1863, Congress made the Medal of Honor a permanent decoration, and it was authorized for officers of the Army.[31][32] On March 25, the Secretary of War presented the first Medals of Honor to six U.S. Army volunteers in his office.[33]

In 1896, the ribbon of the Army's version of the Medal of Honor was redesigned with all stripes being vertical.[34] Again, in 1904 the planchet of the Army's version of the Medal of Honor was redesigned by General George Lewis Gillespie.[34] The purpose of the redesign was to help distinguish the Medal of Honor from other medals,[35] particularly the membership insignia issued by the Grand Army of the Republic.[36]

In 1917, based on the report of the Medal of Honor Review Board, established by Congress in 1916, 911 recipients were stricken off the Army's Medal of Honor list because the medal had been awarded inappropriately.[37] Among them were William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody and Mary Edwards Walker. In 1977, Congress began reviewing numerous cases; it reinstated the medals for Cody and four other civilian scouts on June 12, 1989.[38][39] Walker's medal was restored in 1977.

A separate Coast Guard Medal of Honor was authorized in 1963, but not yet designed or awarded.[40]

A separate design for a version of the medal for the Department of the Air Force was created in 1956, authorized in 1960, and officially adopted on April 14, 1965. Previously, airmen of the U.S. Air Force received the Army's version of the medal.[41]

Appearance

There are three versions of the Medal of Honor, one for each of the military departments of the Department of Defense (DoD): the Department of the Army, Department of the Navy (Naval Service), and Department of the Air Force (Air and Space Forces). Members of the Coast Guard, part of the Department of Homeland Security, are eligible to receive the Naval version. Each medal is constructed differently and the components are made from gilding metals and red brass alloys with some gold plating, enamel, and bronze pieces. The United States Congress considered a bill in 2004 which would require the Medal of Honor to be made with 90% gold, the same composition as the lesser-known Congressional Gold Medal, but the measure was dropped.[42]

 
Army Medal of Honor
 
Naval Medal of Honor
 
Air and Space Forces Medal of Honor

Army variant

The Army's version is described by the Institute of Heraldry as "a gold five-pointed star, each point tipped with trefoils, 1+1⁄2 inches [3.8 cm] wide, surrounded by a green laurel wreath and suspended from a gold bar inscribed VALOR, surmounted by an eagle. In the center of the star, Minerva's head surrounded by the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. On each ray of the star is a green oak leaf. On the reverse is a bar engraved THE CONGRESS TO with a space for engraving the name of the recipient."[43] The pendant and suspension bar are made of gilding metal, with the eye, jump rings, and suspension ring made of red brass.[44] The finish on the pendant and suspension bar is hard enameled, gold plated, and rose gold plated, with polished highlights.[44]

Naval variant

The Naval version is described as "a five-pointed bronze star, tipped with trefoils containing a crown of laurel and oak. In the center is Minerva, personifying the United States, standing with her left hand resting on fasces and her right hand holding a shield emblazoned with the shield from the coat of arms of the United States. She repulses Discord, represented by snakes (originally, she was repulsing the snakes of secession). The medal is suspended from the flukes of an anchor. It is made of solid red brass, oxidized and buffed.[45]

Air and Space Forces variant

The Air and Space Forces version is described as "within a wreath of green laurel, a gold five-pointed star, one point down, tipped with trefoils and each point containing a crown of laurel and oak on a green background. Centered on the star, an annulet of 34 stars is a representation of the head of the Statue of Liberty. The star is suspended from a bar inscribed with the word VALOR above an adaptation of Jupiter's thunderbolt from the Department of the Air Force's seal. The pendant is made of gilding metal.[46] The connecting bar, hinge, and pin are made of bronze.[46] The finish on the pendant and suspension bar is hard enameled, gold plated, and rose gold plated, with buffed relief.[46]

Historic versions

Main article: Tiffany Cross Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor has evolved in appearance over time. The upside-down star design of the Naval version's pendant adopted in early 1862 has not changed since its inception. The Army's 1862 version followed and was identical to the Naval version except an eagle perched atop cannons was used instead of an anchor to connect the pendant to the suspension ribbon. The medals featured a female allegory of the Union, with a shield in her right hand that she used to fend off a crouching attacker and serpents. In her left hand, she held a fasces. There are 34 stars surrounding the scene, representing the number of states in the union at the time.[47] In 1896, the Army version changed the ribbon's design and colors due to misuse and imitation by nonmilitary organizations.[43] In 1904, the Army "Gillespie" version introduced a smaller redesigned star and the ribbon was changed to the light blue pattern with white stars seen today.[43] The 1904 Army version also introduced a bar with the word "Valor" above the star.[47] In 1913, the Naval version adopted the same ribbon pattern.

After World War I, the Department of the Navy decided to separate the Medal of Honor into two versions, one for combat and one for non-combat. This was an attempt to circumvent the requirement enacted in 1919 that recipients participate "in action involving actual conflict with the enemy," which would have foreclosed non-combat awards.[48] By treating the 1919 Medal of Honor as a separate award from its Civil War counterpart, this allowed the Department of the Navy to claim that it was not literally in violation of the 1919 law.[49] The original upside-down star was designated as the non-combat version and a new pattern of the medal pendant, in cross form, was designed by the Tiffany Company in 1919. Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels selected Tiffany after snubbing the Commission of Fine Arts, which had submitted drawings that Daniels criticized as "un-American".[50] The "Tiffany Cross" was to be presented to a sailor or marine who "in action involving actual conflict with the enemy, distinguish[es] himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty".[51] Despite the "actual conflict" guidelines, the Tiffany Cross was awarded to Navy CDR (later RADM) Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett for their flight to the North Pole in 1926. The decision was controversial within the Navy's Bureau of Navigation (which handled personnel administration), and officials considered asking the attorney general of the United States for an advisory opinion on the matter.[52] Byrd himself apparently disliked the "Tiffany Cross", and eventually requested the alternate version of the medal from President Herbert Hoover in 1930.[53] The Tiffany Cross itself was not popular among recipients—one author reflected that it was "the most short-lived, legally contentious, and unpopular version of the Medal of Honor in American history."[50] In 1942, in response to a lawsuit, the Department of the Navy requested an amendment to expressly allow noncombat awards of the Medal of Honor.[54] When the amendment passed, the Department of the Navy returned to using only the original 1862 inverted 5-point star design.[55]

In 1944, the suspension ribbons for both versions were replaced with the now-familiar neck ribbon.[43] When the Air and Space Force's version was designed in 1956, it incorporated similar elements and design from the Army version. At the Department of the Air Force leadership's insistence, the new medal depicted the Statue of Liberty's image in place of Minerva on the medal and changed the connecting device from an eagle to Jupiter's thunderbolt flanked with wings as found on the Department of the Air Force's seal.[56][57][58]

  •  

    1862–95 Army version

  •  

    1896–1903 Army version

  •  

    1904–44 Army version

  •  

    Post 1944 Army version

  •  

    1862–1912 Navy version

  •  

    1913–42 Navy version

  •  

    1919–42 Navy "Tiffany Cross" version

  •  

    Post 1942 Navy version

Neck ribbon, service ribbon and lapel button

Since 1944, the Medal of Honor has been attached to a light blue[59] colored moiré silk neck ribbon that is 1+3⁄16 in (30 mm) in width and 21+3⁄4 in (550 mm) in length.[2][60] The center of the ribbon displays thirteen white stars in the form of three chevron. Both the top and middle chevrons are made up of 5 stars, with the bottom chevron made of 3 stars. The Medal of Honor is one of only two United States military awards suspended from a neck ribbon.[61] The other is the Commander's Degree of the Legion of Merit, and is usually awarded to individuals serving foreign governments.[62][63]

On May 2, 1896, Congress authorized a "ribbon to be worn with the medal and [a] rosette or knot to be worn in lieu of the medal."[25][43][64] The service ribbon is light blue with five white stars in the form of an "M".[43] It is placed first in the top position in the order of precedence and is worn for situations other than full-dress military uniform.[43] The lapel button is a 1⁄2-inch (13 mm), six-sided light blue bowknot rosette with thirteen white stars and may be worn on appropriate civilian clothing on the left lapel.[43]

Devices

In 2011, Department of Defense instructions in regard to the Medal of Honor were amended to read "for each succeeding act that would otherwise justify award of the Medal of Honor, the individual receiving the subsequent award is authorized to wear an additional Medal of Honor ribbon and/or a 'V' device on the Medal of Honor suspension ribbon" (the "V" device is a 1⁄4-inch-high (6.4 mm) bronze miniature letter "V" with serifs that denotes valor). The Medal of Honor was the only decoration authorized to use the "V" device (none were ever issued) to designate subsequent awards in such a fashion. Nineteen individuals, all now deceased, were double Medal of Honor recipients.[65] In July 2014, DoD instructions were changed to read, "A separate MOH is presented to an individual for each succeeding act that justified award.", removing the authorization for the V device.[66]

Medal of Honor Flag

 
Medal of Honor Flag

On October 23, 2002, Pub. L. 107–248 (text) (PDF) was enacted, modifying 36 U.S.C. § 903, authorizing a Medal of Honor Flag to be presented to each person to whom a Medal of Honor is awarded. In the case of a posthumous award, the flag will be presented to whomever the Medal of Honor is presented to, which in most cases will be the primary next of kin of the deceased awardee.[67][68]

The flag was based on a concept by retired U.S. Army Special Forces First Sergeant Bill Kendall of Jefferson, Iowa,[69] who in 2001, designed a flag to honor Medal of Honor recipient Army Air Forces Captain Darrell Lindsey, a B-26 pilot from Jefferson who was killed in action during World War II. Kendall's design of a light blue field emblazoned with 13 white five-pointed stars was nearly identical to that of Sarah LeClerc's of the Institute of Heraldry. LeClerc's gold-fringed flag, ultimately accepted as the official flag, does not include the words "Medal of Honor" as written on Kendall's flag. The color of the field and the 13 white stars, arranged in the form of a three-bar chevron, consisting of two chevrons of five stars and one chevron of three stars,[2] emulate the suspension ribbon of the Medal of Honor. The flag has no defined proportions.[70]

The first Medal of Honor Flag recipient was U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith, whose flag was presented posthumously. President George W. Bush presented the Medal of Honor and Flag to the family of Smith during the award ceremony for him in the White House on April 4, 2005.[71]

A special Medal of Honor Flag presentation ceremony was held for over 60 living Medal of Honor recipients on board the USS Constitution in September 2006.[72]

Presentation

 
President Calvin Coolidge bestowing the Medal of Honor upon Henry Breault, March 8, 1924

There are two distinct protocols for awarding the Medal of Honor. The first and most common is nomination and approval through the chain of command of the service member. The second method is nomination by a member of the U.S. Congress, generally at the request of a constituent. In both cases, if the proposal is outside the time limits for the recommendation, approval to waive the time limit requires a special Act of Congress. The Medal of Honor is presented by the President on behalf of, and in the name of, the Congress.[73] Since 1980, nearly all Medal of Honor recipients—or in the case of posthumous awards, the next of kin—have been personally decorated by the president.[74][75][76] Since 1941, more than half of the Medals of Honor have been awarded posthumously.[77]

Evolution of criteria

  • 19th century: Several months after President Abraham Lincoln signed Public Resolution 82 into law on December 21, 1861, for a Navy medal of honor, a similar resolution was passed in July 1862 for an Army version of the medal. Six U.S. Army soldiers who hijacked a Confederate locomotive named The General in 1862 were the first Medal of Honor recipients;[78] James J. Andrews led the raid. He was caught and hanged as a U.S. spy, but as a civilian, he was not eligible to receive the medal. Many Medals of Honor awarded in the 19th century were associated with "saving the flag" (and country), not just for patriotic reasons, but because the U.S. flag was a primary means of battlefield communication at the time. Because no other military decoration was authorized during the Civil War, some seemingly less exceptional and notable actions were recognized by a Medal of Honor during that conflict.
  • 20th century: Early in the twentieth century, the Department of the Navy awarded many Medals of Honor for peacetime bravery. For instance, in 1901, John Henry Helms aboard USS Chicago was awarded the medal for saving the ship's cook from drowning. Seven sailors aboard USS Iowa were awarded the medal after the ship's boiler exploded on January 25, 1904. Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett were awarded the medal—combat ("Tiffany") version despite the existence then of a non-combat form of the Navy medal—for the 1926 flight they claim reached the North Pole.[79] And Admiral Thomas J. Ryan was awarded the medal for saving a woman from the burning Grand Hotel in Yokohama, Japan, following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake.[80] Between 1919 and 1942, the Department of the Navy issued two separate versions of the Medal of Honor, one for acts related to combat and one for non-combat bravery. The criteria for the award tightened during World War I for the Army version of the Medal of Honor, while the Navy version retained a non-combat provision until 1963. In an Act of Congress of July 9, 1918, the War Department version of the medal required that the recipient "distinguish himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty", and also required that the act of valor be performed "in action involving actual conflict with an enemy".[81] This followed shortly after the results of the Army Medal of Honor Review Board, which struck 911 medals from the Medal of Honor list in February 1917 for lack of basic prerequisites.[37] These included the members of the 27th Maine erroneously awarded the medal for reenlisting to guard the capital during the Civil War, 29 members of Abraham Lincoln's funeral detail, and six civilians, including Buffalo Bill Cody (restored along with four other scouts in 1989)[82] and a female doctor, Mary Edwards Walker, who had cared for the sick (this last was restored posthumously in 1977).[83]
  • World War II: As a result of lawsuits, the Department of the Navy requested the Congress expressly authorize non-combat medals in the text of the authorizing statute, since the department had been awarding non-combat medals with questionable legal backing that had caused it much embarrassment.[54] The last non-combat Navy Medal of Honor was awarded in 1945, although the Department of the Navy attempted to award a non-combat Medal of Honor as late as the Korean War.[84] Official accounts vary, but generally, the Medal of Honor for combat was known as the "Tiffany Cross", after the company that designed the medal. The Tiffany Cross was first awarded in 1919, but was unpopular partly because of its design as well as a lower gratuity than the Navy's original medal.[50] The Tiffany Cross Medal of Honor was awarded at least three times for non-combat. By a special authorized Act of Congress, the medal was presented to Byrd and Bennett (see above).[85][86] In 1942, the Department of the Navy reverted to a single Medal of Honor, although the statute still contained a loophole allowing the award for both "action involving actual conflict with the enemy" or "in the line of his profession".[87] Arising from these criteria, approximately 60 percent of the medals earned during and after World War II have been awarded posthumously.[citation needed]
  • Public Law 88–77, July 25, 1963: The requirements for the Medal of Honor were standardized among all the services, requiring that a recipient had "distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty."[88] Thus, the act removed the loophole allowing non-combat awards to Navy personnel. The act also clarified that the act of valor must occur during one of three circumstances:[89]
  1. While engaged in action against an enemy of the United States
  2. While engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force.
  3. While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.[90][91]

Congress drew the three permutations of combat from President Kennedy's executive order of April 25, 1962, which previously added the same criteria to the Purple Heart. On August 24, Kennedy added similar criteria for the Bronze Star Medal.[92][93] The amendment was necessary because Cold War armed conflicts did not qualify for consideration under previous statutes such as the 1918 Army Medal of Honor Statute that required valor "in action involving actual conflict with an enemy",[94] since the United States has not formally declared war since World War II as a result of the provisions of the United Nations Charter.[citation needed] According to congressional testimony by the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, the services were seeking authority to award the Medal of Honor and other valor awards retroactive to July 1, 1958, in areas such as Berlin, Lebanon, Quemoy and Matsu Islands, Taiwan Straits, Congo, Laos, Vietnam, and Cuba.[92]

Authority and privileges

 
Medal of Honor monument and Medal of Honor headstones of the Civil War recipients of "Andrews Raid" at the Chattanooga National Cemetery in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
 
Medal of Honor gravemarker of Jimmie W. Monteith at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial
 
Medal of Honor headstone of James H. Robinson at the Memphis National Cemetery

The four specific statutory sections authorizing the medal, as last amended on August 13, 2018, are as follows:[90]

The President may award, and present in the name of Congress, a medal of honor of appropriate design, with ribbons and appurtenances, to a person who while a member of the [Army] [naval service] [Air Force] [Coast Guard], distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.[95]

Privileges and courtesies

The Medal of Honor confers special privileges on its recipients. By law, recipients have several benefits:[96][97]

  • Each Medal of Honor recipient may have his or her name entered on the Medal of Honor Roll (38 U.S.C. § 1560).
  • Each person whose name is placed on the Medal of Honor Roll is certified to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as being entitled to receive a monthly pension above and beyond any military pensions or other benefits for which they may be eligible. The pension is subject to cost-of-living increases; as of November 22, 2022, it is $1,619.34 a month.[98]
  • Enlisted recipients of the Medal of Honor are entitled to a supplemental uniform allowance.[99]
  • Recipients receive special entitlements to air transportation under the provisions of DOD Regulation 4515.13-R. This benefit allows the recipient to travel as deemed fit, as well as allows the recipient's dependents to travel either overseas–overseas, overseas–continental U.S., or continental U.S.–overseas when accompanied by the recipient.[100]
  • Special identification cards and commissary and exchange privileges are provided for Medal of Honor recipients and their eligible dependents.[101]
  • Recipients are granted eligibility for interment at Arlington National Cemetery, if not otherwise eligible.[102]
  • Fully qualified children of recipients automatically appointed to any of the United States service academies.[103]
  • Recipients receive a ten percent increase in retired pay.[104]
  • Those awarded the medal after October 23, 2002, receive a Medal of Honor Flag. The law specified that all 103 living prior recipients as of that date would receive a flag.[105]
  • Recipients receive an invitation to all future presidential inaugurations and inaugural balls.[106]
  • As with all medals, retired personnel may wear the Medal of Honor on "appropriate" civilian clothing. Regulations specify that recipients of the Medal of Honor are allowed to wear the uniform "at their pleasure" with standard restrictions on political, commercial, or extremist purposes (other former members of the armed forces may do so only at certain ceremonial occasions).[107]
  • Forty states offer a special license plate for certain types of vehicles to recipients at little or no cost to the recipient.[108][109] The states that do not offer Medal of Honor specific license plate offer special license plates for veterans for which recipients may be eligible.[110]

Saluting

 
Admiral Eric T. Olson salutes Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry at a ceremony at The Pentagon (July 2011)
  • Although not required by law or military regulation,[111] members of the uniformed services are encouraged to render salutes to recipients of the Medal of Honor as a matter of respect and courtesy regardless of rank or status, whether or not they are in uniform.[112] This is one of the few instances where a living member of the military will receive salutes from members of a higher rank. According to paragraph 1.6.1.1 of Air Force Instruction 1-1, the United States Air Force requires that salutes be rendered to Medal of Honor recipients.[113]

Legal protection

  • 1904: The Army redesigned its Medal of Honor, largely a reaction to the copying of the Medal of Honor by various veterans organizations, such as the Grand Army of the Republic.[114][115] To prevent the making of copies of the medal, Brigadier General George Gillespie, Jr., a Medal of Honor recipient from the Civil War, applied for and obtained a patent for the new design.[115][116] General Gillespie received the patent on November 22, 1904,[116] and he transferred it the following month to the Secretary of War at the time, William Howard Taft.[115]
  • 1923: Congress passed a statute (the year before the 20-year term of the patent would expire)—which would later be codified at 18 U.S.C. §704—prohibiting the unauthorized wearing, manufacturing, or sale of military medals or decorations.[117] In 1994, Congress amended the statute to permit an enhanced penalty if the offense involved the Medal of Honor.[118]
  • 2006: The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 was enacted.[119] The law amended 18 U.S.C. § 704 to make it a federal criminal offense for a person to deliberately state falsely that he or she had been awarded a military decoration, service medal, or badge.[120][121][122] The law also permitted an enhanced penalty for someone who falsely claimed to have been awarded the Medal of Honor.[122]
  • June 28, 2012: In the case of United States v. Alvarez, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Stolen Valor Act of 2005's criminalization of the making of false claims of having been awarded a military medal, decoration, or badge was an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech.[123] The case involved an elected official in California, Xavier Alvarez, who had falsely stated at a public meeting that he had been awarded the Medal of Honor, even though he had never served in any branch of the armed forces. The Supreme Court's decision did not specifically address the constitutionality of the older portion of the statute which prohibits the unauthorized wearing, manufacturing, or sale of military medals or decorations. Under the law, the unauthorized wearing, manufacturing, or sale of the Medal of Honor is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 and imprisonment of up to one year.[124]
  • June 3, 2013: President Barack Obama signed into law a revised version of the Stolen Valor Act, making it a federal offense for someone to represent themselves as awardees of medals for valor in order to receive benefits or other privileges (such as grants, educational benefits, housing, etc.) that are set aside for veterans and other service members.[125] As of 2017, there were only two reported arrests and prosecutions under the law, leading at least 22 states to enact their own legislation to criminalize stolen valor amid claims that the federal law was virtually unenforced.[126]

Duplicate medals

Medal of Honor recipients may apply in writing to the headquarters of the service branch of the medal awarded for a replacement or display Medal of Honor, ribbon, and appurtenance (Medal of Honor flag) without charge. Primary next of kin may also do the same and have any questions answered in regard to the Medal of Honor that was awarded.[127]

Recipients

Main article: List of Medal of Honor recipients
On This Day In History: The Medal of Honor was created in 1862.
  • The first Medals of Honor were awarded and presented to six U.S. Army soldiers ("Andrews Raiders") on March 25, 1863, by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, in his office of the War Department. Private Jacob Parrott, a U.S. Army volunteer from Ohio, became the first actual Medal of Honor recipient, awarded for his volunteering for and participation in a raid on a Confederate train in Big Shanty, Georgia, on April 12, 1862, during the American Civil War. After the medal presentations, the six decorated soldiers met with President Lincoln in the White House.[24][128]
  • The first U.S. Navy sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor on April 3, 1863. 41 sailors received the award, with 17 awards for action during the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip.[129]
  • The first marines awarded the Medal of Honor were John F. Mackie and Pinkerton R. Vaughn on July 10, 1863;[130] Mackie for USS Galena on May 15, 1862, and Vaughn for USS Mississippi on March 14, 1863.
  • The first, and so far only, Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Medal of Honor was Signalman First Class Douglas Munro. He was posthumously awarded it on May 27, 1943, for evacuating 500 marines under fire on September 27, 1942, during the Battle of Guadalcanal.[131]
  • The only woman awarded the Medal of Honor is Mary Edwards Walker, who was a civilian Army surgeon during the American Civil War. She received the award in 1865 after the Judge Advocate General of the Army determined that she could not be given a retroactive commission, and so President Andrew Johnson directed that "the usual medal of honor for meritorious services be given her."[132][133]
 
William Harvey Carney, wearing his Medal of Honor
  • The first black recipients of the Medal of Honor were sixteen Army soldiers and sixteen Navy sailors that fought during the Civil War. The first award was announced on April 6, 1865, to twelve black soldiers from the five regiments of U.S. Colored Troops who fought at New Market Heights outside of Richmond on September 29, 1864.[47] The first black man to earn the Medal of Honor was William Harvey Carney. He earned the Medal during the Battle of Ft Wagner, but was not presented with it until 1900.

The 1917 Medal of Honor Board deleted 911 awards, but only 910 names from the Army's Medal of Honor list,[134] including awards to Mary Edwards Walker, William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody and the first of two awards issued February 10, 1887, to George W. Mindil, who retained his award issued October 25, 1893. None of the 910 "deleted" recipients were ordered to return their medals, although on the question of whether the recipients could continue to wear their medals, the Judge Advocate General advised the Medal of Honor Board that the Army was not obligated to police the matter. Walker continued to wear her medal until her death. Although some sources claim that President Jimmy Carter formally restored her medal posthumously in 1977,[133] this action was actually taken unilaterally by the Army's Board for Correction of Military Records.[135] The Army Board for Correction of Military Records also restored the Medals of Honor of Buffalo Bill and four other civilian scouts in 1989.[136]

  • Sixty-one Canadians who served in the United States Armed Forces, mostly during the American Civil War. Since 1900, four Canadians have received the medal.[137] The only Canadian-born, naturalized U.S. citizen to receive the medal for heroism during the Vietnam War was Peter C. Lemon.[138]

While the governing statute for the Army's Medal of Honor (10 U.S.C. § 6241), beginning in 1918, explicitly stated that a recipient must be "an officer or enlisted man of the Army", "distinguish himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty", and perform an act of valor "in action involving actual conflict with an enemy",[81] exceptions have been made:

Awards by conflict
Conflict Date Medal count (3,530) List article
Civil War 1861–1865 1,523 American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients
Indian Wars 1865–1891 426 Medal of Honor recipients for the Indian Wars
Korean Expedition 1871 15 Medal of Honor recipients in Korea
Spanish–American War 1898 110 Medal of Honor recipients for the Spanish–American War
Second Samoan Civil War 1899 4 Medal of Honor recipients for the Samoan Civil War
Philippine–American War 1899–1902 86 Philippine–American War Medal of Honor recipients
Boxer Rebellion 1899–1901 59 Medal of Honor recipients for the Boxer Rebellion
Occupation of Veracruz 1914 56 Medal of Honor recipients for Veracruz
United States occupation of Haiti 1915–1934 8 Medal of Honor recipients for Haiti
Dominican Republic Occupation 1916–1924 3 Medal of Honor recipients for the Occupation of the Dominican Republic
World War I 1914–1918 126 Medal of Honor recipients for World War I
Occupation of Nicaragua 1912–1933 2 Medal of Honor recipients for Occupation of Nicaragua
World War II 1939–1945 472 Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
Korean War 1950–1953 146 Korean War Medal of Honor recipients
Vietnam War 1955–1975 261 Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam War
USS Liberty incident 1967 1 Medal of Honor recipients for the USS Liberty incident
Battle of Mogadishu 1993 2 Medal of Honor recipients for the Battle of Mogadishu
Iraq War 2003–2011 7 Medal of Honor recipients for the Iraq War
War in Afghanistan 2001–2021 20 Medal of Honor recipients for the War in Afghanistan
Operation Inherent Resolve 2014–present 1 Medal of Honor recipients for Operation Inherent Resolve
Peacetime 1865–1939 193 Medal of Honor recipients during peacetime
Unknown soldiers 1914–1973 9 Unknown Medal of Honor recipients (4 American and 5 Allies)
Awards by military branch[citation needed]
Army Navy Marine Corps Air Force Coast Guard Total[148]
2,461 749 300 19 1 3,530

Note that the number of Air Force recipients does not count recipients from its pre-September 19, 1947, Army-related predecessor organizations.

Double recipients

Nineteen service members have been awarded the Medal of Honor twice.[149] The first double Medal of Honor recipient was Thomas Custer (brother of George Armstrong Custer) for two separate actions that took place several days apart during the American Civil War.[150]

Five "double recipients" were awarded both the Army's and Navy's Medal of Honor for the same action, with all five of these occurrences taking place during World War I.[151] No modern recipients have more than one medal because of laws passed for the Army in 1918, and for the Navy in 1919, which stipulated that "no more than one medal of honor . . . shall be issued to any one person," although subsequent awards were authorized by issuance of bars or other devices in lieu of the medal itself.[152] The statutory bar was finally repealed in the FY2014 defense bill, at the request of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, meaning that recipients can now be issued more than one medal. However, no more than one medal may be issued for the same action.[153]

To date, the maximum number of Medals of Honor earned by any service member has been two.[40] The last living individual to be awarded two Medals of Honor was John J. Kelly October 3, 1918; the last individual to receive two Medals of Honor for two different actions was Smedley Butler, in 1914 and 1915.

Name Service Rank[e] War(s) Notes
Frank Baldwin Army First Lieutenant, Captain American Civil War, Indian Wars
Smedley Butler Marine Corps Major General Veracruz, Haiti
John Cooper Navy Coxswain American Civil War
Louis Cukela Marine Corps Sergeant World War I Awarded both Navy and Army versions for same action.
Thomas Custer Army Second Lieutenant American Civil War Battle of Namozine Church on April 3 and Battle of Sayler's Creek on April 6, 1865.
Daniel Daly Marine Corps Private, Gunnery Sergeant Boxer Rebellion, Haiti [154]
Henry Hogan Army First Sergeant Indian Wars
Ernest A. Janson Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant World War I Both awarded for same action. Received the Army MOH under the name Charles F. Hoffman.
John J. Kelly Marine Corps Private World War I Both awarded for same action.
John King Navy Water tender Peacetime 1901 and 1909
Matej Kocak Marine Corps Sergeant World War I Both awarded for same action.
John Lafferty Navy Fireman, First Class Fireman American Civil War, peacetime
John C. McCloy Navy Coxswain, Chief Boatswain Boxer Rebellion, Veracruz
Patrick Mullen Navy Boatswain's Mate American Civil War
John H. Pruitt Marine Corps Corporal World War I Both awarded for same action.
Robert Sweeney Navy Ordinary Seaman Peacetime 1881 and 1883
Albert Weisbogel Navy Captain of the Mizzen Top Peacetime 1874 and 1876
Louis Williams Navy Captain of the Hold Peacetime 1883 and 1884. Also known as Ludwig Andreas Olsen.
William Wilson Army Sergeant Indian Wars

Related recipients

Arthur MacArthur, Jr. and Douglas MacArthur are the first father and son to be awarded the Medal of Honor. The only other such pairing is Theodore Roosevelt (awarded in 2001) and Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

Five pairs of brothers have received the Medal of Honor:

Another notable pair of related recipients are Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher (rear admiral at the time of award) and his nephew, Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher (lieutenant at the time of award), both awarded for actions during the United States occupation of Veracruz.

Late awards

Since 1979, 86 late Medal of Honor awards have been presented for actions from the Civil War to the Vietnam War. In addition, five recipients whose names were not included on the Army's Medal of Honor Roll in 1917 had their awards restored.[155] A 1993 study commissioned by the U.S. Army investigated "racial disparity" in the awarding of medals.[156] At the time, no Medals of Honor had been awarded to U.S. soldiers of African descent who served in World War II. After an exhaustive review, the study recommended that ten Distinguished Service Cross recipients be awarded the Medal of Honor. On January 13, 1997, President Bill Clinton presented the Medal of Honor to seven of these World War II veterans, six of them posthumously and one to former Second Lieutenant Vernon Baker.[157]

In 1998, a similar study of Asian Americans resulted in President Bill Clinton presenting 22 Medals of Honor in 2000.[158] Twenty of these medals went to U.S. soldiers of Japanese descent of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (442nd RCT) who served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II.[158][159] One of these Medal of Honor recipients was Senator Daniel Inouye, a former U.S. Army officer in the 442nd RCT.[157]

In 2005, President George W. Bush presented the Medal of Honor to Tibor Rubin, a Hungarian-born American Jew who was a Holocaust survivor of World War II and enlisted U.S. infantryman and prisoner of war in the Korean War, whom many believed to have been overlooked because of his religion.[160]

On April 11, 2013, President Obama presented the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army chaplain Captain Emil Kapaun for his actions as a prisoner of war during the Korean War.[161] This follows other awards to Army Sergeant Leslie H. Sabo, Jr. for conspicuous gallantry in action on May 10, 1970, near Se San, Cambodia, during the Vietnam War[162] and to Army Private First Class Henry Svehla and Army Private First Class Anthony T. Kahoʻohanohano for their heroic actions during the Korean War.[163]

As a result of a congressionally mandated review to ensure brave acts were not overlooked due to prejudice or discrimination, on March 18, 2014, President Obama upgraded Distinguished Service Crosses to Medals of Honor for 24 Hispanic, Jewish, and black individuals—the "Valor 24"—for their actions in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.[164] Three were still living at the time of the ceremony.[164]

On November 6, 2014, President Obama presented the Medal of Honor posthumously to First Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing for actions on July 3, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg. Lieutenant Cushing's award is the last Medal of Honor to be presented to a soldier in the American Civil War, after 151 years since the date of the action.[165]

27th Maine and other revoked awards

 
A Medal of Honor monument at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas

During the Civil War, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton promised a Medal of Honor to every man in the 27th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment who extended his enlistment beyond their separation date. The Battle of Gettysburg was imminent, and 311 men of the regiment volunteered to serve until the battle was resolved. The remaining men returned to Maine, and with the Union victory at Gettysburg the 311 volunteers soon followed. They arrived back in Maine in time to be discharged with the men who had returned earlier. Since there seemed to be no official list of the 311 volunteers, the War Department exacerbated the situation by forwarding 864 medals to the commanding officer of the regiment. The commanding officer only issued the medals to the volunteers who stayed behind and retained the others on the grounds that, if he returned the remainder to the War Department, the War Department would try to reissue the medals.[166]

In 1916, a board of five Army generals on the retired list convened under act of law to review every Army Medal of Honor awarded. The board was to report on any Medals of Honor awarded or issued "for any cause other than distinguished conduct by an officer or enlisted man in action involving actual conflict with an enemy."[37] The commission, led by Nelson A. Miles, identified 911 awards for causes other than distinguished conduct. This included the 864 medals awarded to members of the 27th Maine regiment; 29 servicemen who served as Abraham Lincoln's funeral guard; six civilians, including Mary Edwards Walker and Buffalo Bill Cody; and 12 others.[167][168] Walker's medal was restored by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in 1977, an action that is often attributed to President Jimmy Carter in error.[169] Cody and four other civilian scouts who rendered distinguished service in action, and who were therefore considered by the board to have fully earned their medals, also had their medals restored by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in 1989.[170] The report issued by the Medal of Honor review board in 1917 was reviewed by the Judge Advocate General, who also advised that the War Department should not seek the return of the revoked medals from the recipients identified by the board. In the case of recipients who continued to wear the medal, the War Department was advised to take no action to enforce the statute.[171]

Similarly-named U.S. decorations

The following decorations, in one degree or another, bear similar names to the Medal of Honor, but are entirely separate awards with different criteria for issuance:

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ As amended by Act of July 25, 1963
  2. ^ For service in the American Civil War to a U.S. Army Private Jacob Parrott.
  3. ^ Quote from War Dept. return receipt letter dated March 1865 signed by asst. adjutant Edward Townsend that accompanied the Medal of Honor delivered to Private Franklin Johndro for his act on September 30, 1864, capturing 49 armed Confederate soldiers.
  4. ^ U.S. Coast Guard Signalman First Class Douglas Albert Munro was posthumously awarded the Navy version of the Medal of Honor for bravery at Guadalcanal on September 27, 1942.
  5. ^ Rank refers to rank held at time of Medal of Honor action.

Citations

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Works cited

Further reading

  • Broadwater, Robert P. (2007). Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients: A Complete Illustrated Record. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. ISBN 978-0-7864-3223-3. OCLC 144767966.
  • Collier, Peter; Del Calzo, Nick (2011). Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty (3rd ed.). New York: Artisan. ISBN 978-1-57965-462-7. OCLC 712124011.
  • Curtis, Arthur S. (1969). 37 Greatest Navy Heroes: Including the Story of Marvin Shields, First Seabee Medal of Honor Hero (Vietnam). Washington, D.C. OCLC 10660663.
  • DeKever, Andrew J. (2008). Here Rests in Honored Glory: Life Stories of Our Country's Medal of Honor Recipients. Bennigton, Vermont: Merriam Press. ISBN 978-1-4357-1749-7. OCLC 233835859.
  • Foster, Frank C. (2002). A Complete Guide to All United States Military Medals, 1939 to Present. Fountain Inn, S.C.: MOA Press. ISBN 978-1-884452-18-5. OCLC 54755134.
  • Hanna, Charles W. (2010). black Recipients of the Medal of Honor: A Biographical Dictionary, Civil War Through Vietnam War. Jefferson, N.C.: Mcfarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-4911-8. OCLC 476156919.
  • Johnson, John L. (2007). Every Night & Every Morn: Portraits of Asian, Hispanic, Jewish, African-American, and Native-American Recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Winston-Salem, NC: Tristan Press. ISBN 978-0-9799572-0-8. OCLC 180773640.
  • Willbanks, James H. (2011). America's Heroes: Medal of Honor Recipients from the Civil War to Afghanistan. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-59884-394-1. OCLC 662405903.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Medal of Honor (United States).
  • Congressional Medal of Honor Society
  • U.S. Army Medal of Honor
  • . Submarine Force Museum website
  • (Medal of Honor recipients depicted on film)
  • National Medal of Honor Museum of Military History in Chattanooga, Tennessee
  • American Valor PBS/WETA.
  • Loubat, J. F. and Jacquemart, Jules, Illustrator, The Medallic History of the United States of America 1776–1876.
  • U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry: Medal of Honor-Army
  • U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry: Medal of Honor-Navy
  • U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry: Medal of Honor-Air Force
  • Pritzker Military Museum & Library

January 26, 2023
medal, honor, this, article, about, military, award, video, game, franchise, video, game, series, other, uses, disambiguation, united, states, armed, forces, highest, military, decoration, awarded, recognize, american, soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guard. This article is about the U S military award For the video game franchise see Medal of Honor video game series For other uses see Medal of Honor disambiguation The Medal of Honor MOH is the United States Armed Forces highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers sailors marines airmen guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor 1 7 The medal is normally awarded by the president of the United States but as it is presented in the name of the United States Congress it is sometimes erroneously referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor 2 8 9 10 Medal of HonorMedals of honor of the three military departmentsTypeMilitary medal with neck ribbon decoration Awarded forConspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty 1 2 a Presented byThe president of the United States in the name of the United States Congress 3 EligibilityUnited States Armed Forces service membersStatusCurrently awardedEstablishedNaval Service December 21 1861Army July 12 1862Air and Space Forces April 14 1965First awardedMarch 25 1863 b Last awardedJuly 5 2022 4 Total awarded posthumously618 5 Total recipients3 525 6 Service ribbon and flagPrecedenceNext lower Army Distinguished Service CrossNaval Service Navy CrossAir and Space Forces Air Force CrossCoast Guard Coast Guard CrossThere are three distinct variants of the medal one for the Army awarded to soldiers one for the Naval Service awarded to sailors marines and coast guardsmen and one for the Air and Space Forces awarded to airmen and guardians 1 11 The Medal of Honor was introduced for the Naval Service in 1861 soon followed by the Army s version in 1862 The Air Force used the Army s version until they received their own distinctive version in 1965 12 The Medal of Honor is the oldest continuously issued combat decoration of the United States Armed Forces 13 The president typically presents the Medal of Honor at a formal ceremony intended to represent the gratitude of the American people with posthumous presentations made to the primary next of kin 14 15 16 According to the Medal of Honor Historical Society of the United States there have been 3 530 Medals of Honor awarded to 3 511 individuals since the decoration s creation with over 40 awarded for actions during the American Civil War 6 In 1990 Congress designated March 25 annually as National Medal of Honor Day 17 Contents 1 History 2 Appearance 2 1 Army variant 2 2 Naval variant 2 3 Air and Space Forces variant 2 4 Historic versions 3 Neck ribbon service ribbon and lapel button 4 Devices 5 Medal of Honor Flag 6 Presentation 6 1 Evolution of criteria 7 Authority and privileges 7 1 Privileges and courtesies 7 2 Saluting 8 Legal protection 9 Duplicate medals 10 Recipients 10 1 Double recipients 10 2 Related recipients 10 3 Late awards 11 27th Maine and other revoked awards 12 Similarly named U S decorations 13 See also 14 References 14 1 Footnotes 14 2 Citations 14 3 Works cited 15 Further reading 16 External linksHistory Edit Medal of Honor without the suspension ribbon awarded to Seaman John Ortega in 1864 Medal of Honor awarded posthumously in 1866 to John Morehead Scott one of the Andrews Raiders During the first year of the Civil War 1861 1865 a proposal for a battlefield decoration for valor was submitted to Lieutenant General Winfield Scott the Commanding General of the United States Army by Lieutenant Colonel Edward D Townsend an assistant adjutant at the Department of War and Scott s chief of staff Scott however was strictly against medals being awarded which was the European tradition After Scott retired in October 1861 Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles adopted the idea of a decoration to recognize and honor distinguished naval service 18 On December 9 1861 Iowa Senator James W Grimes Chairman on the Committee on Naval Affairs 19 submitted Bill S 82 12 Stat 329 330 20 during the Second Session of the 37th Congress An Act to further promote the Efficiency of the Navy The bill included a provision Chap 1 Sec 7 for 200 medals of honor 21 to be bestowed upon such petty officers seamen landsmen and marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other seaman like qualities during the present war 22 On December 21 the bill was passed and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln Secretary Welles directed the Philadelphia Mint to design the new military decoration 23 24 25 On May 15 1862 the United States Department of the Navy ordered 175 medals 1 85 each from the U S Mint in Philadelphia with Personal Valor inscribed on the back of each one 26 On February 15 1862 Senator Henry Wilson the chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia introduced a resolution for a Medal of Honor for the Army The resolution 37th Congress Second Session Resolution No 52 12 Stat 623 624 was approved by Congress and signed into law on July 12 1862 A Resolution to provide for the Presentation of Medals of Honor to the Enlisted Men of the Army and Volunteer Forces who have distinguished or may distinguish themselves in Battle during the present Rebellion This measure provided for awarding a medal of honor to such non commissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other soldier like qualities during the present insurrection During the war Townsend would have some medals delivered to some recipients with a letter requesting acknowledgment of the Medal of Honor The letter written and signed by Townsend on behalf of the Secretary of War stated that the resolution was to provide for the presentation of medals of honor to the enlisted men of the army and volunteer forces who have distinguished or may distinguish themselves in battle during the present rebellion 27 c By mid November the Department of War contracted with Philadelphia silversmith William Wilson and Son who had been responsible for the Navy s design to prepare 2 000 medals for the Army 2 00 each to be cast at the mint 28 The Army s version had The Congress to written on the back of the medal Both versions were made of copper and coated with bronze which gave them a reddish tint 29 30 On March 3 1863 Congress made the Medal of Honor a permanent decoration and it was authorized for officers of the Army 31 32 On March 25 the Secretary of War presented the first Medals of Honor to six U S Army volunteers in his office 33 In 1896 the ribbon of the Army s version of the Medal of Honor was redesigned with all stripes being vertical 34 Again in 1904 the planchet of the Army s version of the Medal of Honor was redesigned by General George Lewis Gillespie 34 The purpose of the redesign was to help distinguish the Medal of Honor from other medals 35 particularly the membership insignia issued by the Grand Army of the Republic 36 In 1917 based on the report of the Medal of Honor Review Board established by Congress in 1916 911 recipients were stricken off the Army s Medal of Honor list because the medal had been awarded inappropriately 37 Among them were William Frederick Buffalo Bill Cody and Mary Edwards Walker In 1977 Congress began reviewing numerous cases it reinstated the medals for Cody and four other civilian scouts on June 12 1989 38 39 Walker s medal was restored in 1977 A separate Coast Guard Medal of Honor was authorized in 1963 but not yet designed or awarded 40 A separate design for a version of the medal for the Department of the Air Force was created in 1956 authorized in 1960 and officially adopted on April 14 1965 Previously airmen of the U S Air Force received the Army s version of the medal 41 Appearance EditThere are three versions of the Medal of Honor one for each of the military departments of the Department of Defense DoD the Department of the Army Department of the Navy Naval Service and Department of the Air Force Air and Space Forces Members of the Coast Guard part of the Department of Homeland Security are eligible to receive the Naval version Each medal is constructed differently and the components are made from gilding metals and red brass alloys with some gold plating enamel and bronze pieces The United States Congress considered a bill in 2004 which would require the Medal of Honor to be made with 90 gold the same composition as the lesser known Congressional Gold Medal but the measure was dropped 42 Army Medal of Honor Naval Medal of Honor Air and Space Forces Medal of Honor Army variant Edit The Army s version is described by the Institute of Heraldry as a gold five pointed star each point tipped with trefoils 1 1 2 inches 3 8 cm wide surrounded by a green laurel wreath and suspended from a gold bar inscribed VALOR surmounted by an eagle In the center of the star Minerva s head surrounded by the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA On each ray of the star is a green oak leaf On the reverse is a bar engraved THE CONGRESS TO with a space for engraving the name of the recipient 43 The pendant and suspension bar are made of gilding metal with the eye jump rings and suspension ring made of red brass 44 The finish on the pendant and suspension bar is hard enameled gold plated and rose gold plated with polished highlights 44 Naval variant Edit The Naval version is described as a five pointed bronze star tipped with trefoils containing a crown of laurel and oak In the center is Minerva personifying the United States standing with her left hand resting on fasces and her right hand holding a shield emblazoned with the shield from the coat of arms of the United States She repulses Discord represented by snakes originally she was repulsing the snakes of secession The medal is suspended from the flukes of an anchor It is made of solid red brass oxidized and buffed 45 Air and Space Forces variant Edit The Air and Space Forces version is described as within a wreath of green laurel a gold five pointed star one point down tipped with trefoils and each point containing a crown of laurel and oak on a green background Centered on the star an annulet of 34 stars is a representation of the head of the Statue of Liberty The star is suspended from a bar inscribed with the word VALOR above an adaptation of Jupiter s thunderbolt from the Department of the Air Force s seal The pendant is made of gilding metal 46 The connecting bar hinge and pin are made of bronze 46 The finish on the pendant and suspension bar is hard enameled gold plated and rose gold plated with buffed relief 46 Historic versions Edit Main article Tiffany Cross Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor has evolved in appearance over time The upside down star design of the Naval version s pendant adopted in early 1862 has not changed since its inception The Army s 1862 version followed and was identical to the Naval version except an eagle perched atop cannons was used instead of an anchor to connect the pendant to the suspension ribbon The medals featured a female allegory of the Union with a shield in her right hand that she used to fend off a crouching attacker and serpents In her left hand she held a fasces There are 34 stars surrounding the scene representing the number of states in the union at the time 47 In 1896 the Army version changed the ribbon s design and colors due to misuse and imitation by nonmilitary organizations 43 In 1904 the Army Gillespie version introduced a smaller redesigned star and the ribbon was changed to the light blue pattern with white stars seen today 43 The 1904 Army version also introduced a bar with the word Valor above the star 47 In 1913 the Naval version adopted the same ribbon pattern After World War I the Department of the Navy decided to separate the Medal of Honor into two versions one for combat and one for non combat This was an attempt to circumvent the requirement enacted in 1919 that recipients participate in action involving actual conflict with the enemy which would have foreclosed non combat awards 48 By treating the 1919 Medal of Honor as a separate award from its Civil War counterpart this allowed the Department of the Navy to claim that it was not literally in violation of the 1919 law 49 The original upside down star was designated as the non combat version and a new pattern of the medal pendant in cross form was designed by the Tiffany Company in 1919 Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels selected Tiffany after snubbing the Commission of Fine Arts which had submitted drawings that Daniels criticized as un American 50 The Tiffany Cross was to be presented to a sailor or marine who in action involving actual conflict with the enemy distinguish es himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty 51 Despite the actual conflict guidelines the Tiffany Cross was awarded to Navy CDR later RADM Richard E Byrd and Floyd Bennett for their flight to the North Pole in 1926 The decision was controversial within the Navy s Bureau of Navigation which handled personnel administration and officials considered asking the attorney general of the United States for an advisory opinion on the matter 52 Byrd himself apparently disliked the Tiffany Cross and eventually requested the alternate version of the medal from President Herbert Hoover in 1930 53 The Tiffany Cross itself was not popular among recipients one author reflected that it was the most short lived legally contentious and unpopular version of the Medal of Honor in American history 50 In 1942 in response to a lawsuit the Department of the Navy requested an amendment to expressly allow noncombat awards of the Medal of Honor 54 When the amendment passed the Department of the Navy returned to using only the original 1862 inverted 5 point star design 55 In 1944 the suspension ribbons for both versions were replaced with the now familiar neck ribbon 43 When the Air and Space Force s version was designed in 1956 it incorporated similar elements and design from the Army version At the Department of the Air Force leadership s insistence the new medal depicted the Statue of Liberty s image in place of Minerva on the medal and changed the connecting device from an eagle to Jupiter s thunderbolt flanked with wings as found on the Department of the Air Force s seal 56 57 58 1862 95 Army version 1896 1903 Army version 1904 44 Army version Post 1944 Army version 1862 1912 Navy version 1913 42 Navy version 1919 42 Navy Tiffany Cross version Post 1942 Navy versionNeck ribbon service ribbon and lapel button Edit Service ribbon Lapel button Since 1944 the Medal of Honor has been attached to a light blue 59 colored moire silk neck ribbon that is 1 3 16 in 30 mm in width and 21 3 4 in 550 mm in length 2 60 The center of the ribbon displays thirteen white stars in the form of three chevron Both the top and middle chevrons are made up of 5 stars with the bottom chevron made of 3 stars The Medal of Honor is one of only two United States military awards suspended from a neck ribbon 61 The other is the Commander s Degree of the Legion of Merit and is usually awarded to individuals serving foreign governments 62 63 On May 2 1896 Congress authorized a ribbon to be worn with the medal and a rosette or knot to be worn in lieu of the medal 25 43 64 The service ribbon is light blue with five white stars in the form of an M 43 It is placed first in the top position in the order of precedence and is worn for situations other than full dress military uniform 43 The lapel button is a 1 2 inch 13 mm six sided light blue bowknot rosette with thirteen white stars and may be worn on appropriate civilian clothing on the left lapel 43 Devices EditIn 2011 Department of Defense instructions in regard to the Medal of Honor were amended to read for each succeeding act that would otherwise justify award of the Medal of Honor the individual receiving the subsequent award is authorized to wear an additional Medal of Honor ribbon and or a V device on the Medal of Honor suspension ribbon the V device is a 1 4 inch high 6 4 mm bronze miniature letter V with serifs that denotes valor The Medal of Honor was the only decoration authorized to use the V device none were ever issued to designate subsequent awards in such a fashion Nineteen individuals all now deceased were double Medal of Honor recipients 65 In July 2014 DoD instructions were changed to read A separate MOH is presented to an individual for each succeeding act that justified award removing the authorization for the V device 66 Medal of Honor Flag Edit Medal of Honor Flag On October 23 2002 Pub L 107 248 text PDF was enacted modifying 36 U S C 903 authorizing a Medal of Honor Flag to be presented to each person to whom a Medal of Honor is awarded In the case of a posthumous award the flag will be presented to whomever the Medal of Honor is presented to which in most cases will be the primary next of kin of the deceased awardee 67 68 The flag was based on a concept by retired U S Army Special Forces First Sergeant Bill Kendall of Jefferson Iowa 69 who in 2001 designed a flag to honor Medal of Honor recipient Army Air Forces Captain Darrell Lindsey a B 26 pilot from Jefferson who was killed in action during World War II Kendall s design of a light blue field emblazoned with 13 white five pointed stars was nearly identical to that of Sarah LeClerc s of the Institute of Heraldry LeClerc s gold fringed flag ultimately accepted as the official flag does not include the words Medal of Honor as written on Kendall s flag The color of the field and the 13 white stars arranged in the form of a three bar chevron consisting of two chevrons of five stars and one chevron of three stars 2 emulate the suspension ribbon of the Medal of Honor The flag has no defined proportions 70 The first Medal of Honor Flag recipient was U S Army Sergeant First Class Paul R Smith whose flag was presented posthumously President George W Bush presented the Medal of Honor and Flag to the family of Smith during the award ceremony for him in the White House on April 4 2005 71 A special Medal of Honor Flag presentation ceremony was held for over 60 living Medal of Honor recipients on board the USS Constitution in September 2006 72 Presentation Edit President Calvin Coolidge bestowing the Medal of Honor upon Henry Breault March 8 1924 There are two distinct protocols for awarding the Medal of Honor The first and most common is nomination and approval through the chain of command of the service member The second method is nomination by a member of the U S Congress generally at the request of a constituent In both cases if the proposal is outside the time limits for the recommendation approval to waive the time limit requires a special Act of Congress The Medal of Honor is presented by the President on behalf of and in the name of the Congress 73 Since 1980 nearly all Medal of Honor recipients or in the case of posthumous awards the next of kin have been personally decorated by the president 74 75 76 Since 1941 more than half of the Medals of Honor have been awarded posthumously 77 Evolution of criteria Edit 19th century Several months after President Abraham Lincoln signed Public Resolution 82 into law on December 21 1861 for a Navy medal of honor a similar resolution was passed in July 1862 for an Army version of the medal Six U S Army soldiers who hijacked a Confederate locomotive named The General in 1862 were the first Medal of Honor recipients 78 James J Andrews led the raid He was caught and hanged as a U S spy but as a civilian he was not eligible to receive the medal Many Medals of Honor awarded in the 19th century were associated with saving the flag and country not just for patriotic reasons but because the U S flag was a primary means of battlefield communication at the time Because no other military decoration was authorized during the Civil War some seemingly less exceptional and notable actions were recognized by a Medal of Honor during that conflict 20th century Early in the twentieth century the Department of the Navy awarded many Medals of Honor for peacetime bravery For instance in 1901 John Henry Helms aboard USS Chicago was awarded the medal for saving the ship s cook from drowning Seven sailors aboard USS Iowa were awarded the medal after the ship s boiler exploded on January 25 1904 Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett were awarded the medal combat Tiffany version despite the existence then of a non combat form of the Navy medal for the 1926 flight they claim reached the North Pole 79 And Admiral Thomas J Ryan was awarded the medal for saving a woman from the burning Grand Hotel in Yokohama Japan following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake 80 Between 1919 and 1942 the Department of the Navy issued two separate versions of the Medal of Honor one for acts related to combat and one for non combat bravery The criteria for the award tightened during World War I for the Army version of the Medal of Honor while the Navy version retained a non combat provision until 1963 In an Act of Congress of July 9 1918 the War Department version of the medal required that the recipient distinguish himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty and also required that the act of valor be performed in action involving actual conflict with an enemy 81 This followed shortly after the results of the Army Medal of Honor Review Board which struck 911 medals from the Medal of Honor list in February 1917 for lack of basic prerequisites 37 These included the members of the 27th Maine erroneously awarded the medal for reenlisting to guard the capital during the Civil War 29 members of Abraham Lincoln s funeral detail and six civilians including Buffalo Bill Cody restored along with four other scouts in 1989 82 and a female doctor Mary Edwards Walker who had cared for the sick this last was restored posthumously in 1977 83 World War II As a result of lawsuits the Department of the Navy requested the Congress expressly authorize non combat medals in the text of the authorizing statute since the department had been awarding non combat medals with questionable legal backing that had caused it much embarrassment 54 The last non combat Navy Medal of Honor was awarded in 1945 although the Department of the Navy attempted to award a non combat Medal of Honor as late as the Korean War 84 Official accounts vary but generally the Medal of Honor for combat was known as the Tiffany Cross after the company that designed the medal The Tiffany Cross was first awarded in 1919 but was unpopular partly because of its design as well as a lower gratuity than the Navy s original medal 50 The Tiffany Cross Medal of Honor was awarded at least three times for non combat By a special authorized Act of Congress the medal was presented to Byrd and Bennett see above 85 86 In 1942 the Department of the Navy reverted to a single Medal of Honor although the statute still contained a loophole allowing the award for both action involving actual conflict with the enemy or in the line of his profession 87 Arising from these criteria approximately 60 percent of the medals earned during and after World War II have been awarded posthumously citation needed Public Law 88 77 July 25 1963 The requirements for the Medal of Honor were standardized among all the services requiring that a recipient had distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty 88 Thus the act removed the loophole allowing non combat awards to Navy personnel The act also clarified that the act of valor must occur during one of three circumstances 89 While engaged in action against an enemy of the United States While engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party 90 91 Congress drew the three permutations of combat from President Kennedy s executive order of April 25 1962 which previously added the same criteria to the Purple Heart On August 24 Kennedy added similar criteria for the Bronze Star Medal 92 93 The amendment was necessary because Cold War armed conflicts did not qualify for consideration under previous statutes such as the 1918 Army Medal of Honor Statute that required valor in action involving actual conflict with an enemy 94 since the United States has not formally declared war since World War II as a result of the provisions of the United Nations Charter citation needed According to congressional testimony by the Army s Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel the services were seeking authority to award the Medal of Honor and other valor awards retroactive to July 1 1958 in areas such as Berlin Lebanon Quemoy and Matsu Islands Taiwan Straits Congo Laos Vietnam and Cuba 92 Authority and privileges Edit Medal of Honor monument and Medal of Honor headstones of the Civil War recipients of Andrews Raid at the Chattanooga National Cemetery in Chattanooga Tennessee Medal of Honor gravemarker of Jimmie W Monteith at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial Medal of Honor headstone of James H Robinson at the Memphis National Cemetery The four specific statutory sections authorizing the medal as last amended on August 13 2018 are as follows 90 Army 10 U S C 7271 Navy and Marine Corps 10 U S C 8291 Air Force and Space Force 10 U S C 9271 Coast Guard 14 U S C 2732 A version is authorized but it has never been awarded d 40 The President may award and present in the name of Congress a medal of honor of appropriate design with ribbons and appurtenances to a person who while a member of the Army naval service Air Force Coast Guard distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty 95 Privileges and courtesies Edit The Medal of Honor confers special privileges on its recipients By law recipients have several benefits 96 97 Each Medal of Honor recipient may have his or her name entered on the Medal of Honor Roll 38 U S C 1560 Each person whose name is placed on the Medal of Honor Roll is certified to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as being entitled to receive a monthly pension above and beyond any military pensions or other benefits for which they may be eligible The pension is subject to cost of living increases as of November 22 2022 update it is 1 619 34 a month 98 Enlisted recipients of the Medal of Honor are entitled to a supplemental uniform allowance 99 Recipients receive special entitlements to air transportation under the provisions of DOD Regulation 4515 13 R This benefit allows the recipient to travel as deemed fit as well as allows the recipient s dependents to travel either overseas overseas overseas continental U S or continental U S overseas when accompanied by the recipient 100 Special identification cards and commissary and exchange privileges are provided for Medal of Honor recipients and their eligible dependents 101 Recipients are granted eligibility for interment at Arlington National Cemetery if not otherwise eligible 102 Fully qualified children of recipients automatically appointed to any of the United States service academies 103 Recipients receive a ten percent increase in retired pay 104 Those awarded the medal after October 23 2002 receive a Medal of Honor Flag The law specified that all 103 living prior recipients as of that date would receive a flag 105 Recipients receive an invitation to all future presidential inaugurations and inaugural balls 106 As with all medals retired personnel may wear the Medal of Honor on appropriate civilian clothing Regulations specify that recipients of the Medal of Honor are allowed to wear the uniform at their pleasure with standard restrictions on political commercial or extremist purposes other former members of the armed forces may do so only at certain ceremonial occasions 107 Forty states offer a special license plate for certain types of vehicles to recipients at little or no cost to the recipient 108 109 The states that do not offer Medal of Honor specific license plate offer special license plates for veterans for which recipients may be eligible 110 Saluting Edit Admiral Eric T Olson salutes Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry at a ceremony at The Pentagon July 2011 Although not required by law or military regulation 111 members of the uniformed services are encouraged to render salutes to recipients of the Medal of Honor as a matter of respect and courtesy regardless of rank or status whether or not they are in uniform 112 This is one of the few instances where a living member of the military will receive salutes from members of a higher rank According to paragraph 1 6 1 1 of Air Force Instruction 1 1 the United States Air Force requires that salutes be rendered to Medal of Honor recipients 113 Legal protection EditThis section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information March 2021 1904 The Army redesigned its Medal of Honor largely a reaction to the copying of the Medal of Honor by various veterans organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic 114 115 To prevent the making of copies of the medal Brigadier General George Gillespie Jr a Medal of Honor recipient from the Civil War applied for and obtained a patent for the new design 115 116 General Gillespie received the patent on November 22 1904 116 and he transferred it the following month to the Secretary of War at the time William Howard Taft 115 1923 Congress passed a statute the year before the 20 year term of the patent would expire which would later be codified at 18 U S C 704 prohibiting the unauthorized wearing manufacturing or sale of military medals or decorations 117 In 1994 Congress amended the statute to permit an enhanced penalty if the offense involved the Medal of Honor 118 2006 The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 was enacted 119 The law amended 18 U S C 704 to make it a federal criminal offense for a person to deliberately state falsely that he or she had been awarded a military decoration service medal or badge 120 121 122 The law also permitted an enhanced penalty for someone who falsely claimed to have been awarded the Medal of Honor 122 June 28 2012 In the case of United States v Alvarez the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Stolen Valor Act of 2005 s criminalization of the making of false claims of having been awarded a military medal decoration or badge was an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment s guarantee of free speech 123 The case involved an elected official in California Xavier Alvarez who had falsely stated at a public meeting that he had been awarded the Medal of Honor even though he had never served in any branch of the armed forces The Supreme Court s decision did not specifically address the constitutionality of the older portion of the statute which prohibits the unauthorized wearing manufacturing or sale of military medals or decorations Under the law the unauthorized wearing manufacturing or sale of the Medal of Honor is punishable by a fine of up to 100 000 and imprisonment of up to one year 124 June 3 2013 President Barack Obama signed into law a revised version of the Stolen Valor Act making it a federal offense for someone to represent themselves as awardees of medals for valor in order to receive benefits or other privileges such as grants educational benefits housing etc that are set aside for veterans and other service members 125 As of 2017 there were only two reported arrests and prosecutions under the law leading at least 22 states to enact their own legislation to criminalize stolen valor amid claims that the federal law was virtually unenforced 126 Duplicate medals EditMedal of Honor recipients may apply in writing to the headquarters of the service branch of the medal awarded for a replacement or display Medal of Honor ribbon and appurtenance Medal of Honor flag without charge Primary next of kin may also do the same and have any questions answered in regard to the Medal of Honor that was awarded 127 Recipients EditMain article List of Medal of Honor recipients source source source source source source source source source source source source source source On This Day In History The Medal of Honor was created in 1862 The first Medals of Honor were awarded and presented to six U S Army soldiers Andrews Raiders on March 25 1863 by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in his office of the War Department Private Jacob Parrott a U S Army volunteer from Ohio became the first actual Medal of Honor recipient awarded for his volunteering for and participation in a raid on a Confederate train in Big Shanty Georgia on April 12 1862 during the American Civil War After the medal presentations the six decorated soldiers met with President Lincoln in the White House 24 128 The first U S Navy sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor on April 3 1863 41 sailors received the award with 17 awards for action during the Battle of Forts Jackson and St Philip 129 The first marines awarded the Medal of Honor were John F Mackie and Pinkerton R Vaughn on July 10 1863 130 Mackie for USS Galena on May 15 1862 and Vaughn for USS Mississippi on March 14 1863 The first and so far only Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Medal of Honor was Signalman First Class Douglas Munro He was posthumously awarded it on May 27 1943 for evacuating 500 marines under fire on September 27 1942 during the Battle of Guadalcanal 131 The only woman awarded the Medal of Honor is Mary Edwards Walker who was a civilian Army surgeon during the American Civil War She received the award in 1865 after the Judge Advocate General of the Army determined that she could not be given a retroactive commission and so President Andrew Johnson directed that the usual medal of honor for meritorious services be given her 132 133 William Harvey Carney wearing his Medal of Honor The first black recipients of the Medal of Honor were sixteen Army soldiers and sixteen Navy sailors that fought during the Civil War The first award was announced on April 6 1865 to twelve black soldiers from the five regiments of U S Colored Troops who fought at New Market Heights outside of Richmond on September 29 1864 47 The first black man to earn the Medal of Honor was William Harvey Carney He earned the Medal during the Battle of Ft Wagner but was not presented with it until 1900 The 1917 Medal of Honor Board deleted 911 awards but only 910 names from the Army s Medal of Honor list 134 including awards to Mary Edwards Walker William F Buffalo Bill Cody and the first of two awards issued February 10 1887 to George W Mindil who retained his award issued October 25 1893 None of the 910 deleted recipients were ordered to return their medals although on the question of whether the recipients could continue to wear their medals the Judge Advocate General advised the Medal of Honor Board that the Army was not obligated to police the matter Walker continued to wear her medal until her death Although some sources claim that President Jimmy Carter formally restored her medal posthumously in 1977 133 this action was actually taken unilaterally by the Army s Board for Correction of Military Records 135 The Army Board for Correction of Military Records also restored the Medals of Honor of Buffalo Bill and four other civilian scouts in 1989 136 Sixty one Canadians who served in the United States Armed Forces mostly during the American Civil War Since 1900 four Canadians have received the medal 137 The only Canadian born naturalized U S citizen to receive the medal for heroism during the Vietnam War was Peter C Lemon 138 While the governing statute for the Army s Medal of Honor 10 U S C 6241 beginning in 1918 explicitly stated that a recipient must be an officer or enlisted man of the Army distinguish himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty and perform an act of valor in action involving actual conflict with an enemy 81 exceptions have been made Charles Lindbergh 1927 civilian pilot and U S Army Air Corps reserve officer 139 Lindbergh s medal was authorized by a special act of Congress 81 140 Major General Retired Adolphus Greely was awarded the medal in 1935 on his 91st birthday for his life of splendid public service The result of a special act of Congress similar to Lindbergh s Greely s medal citation did not reference any acts of valor 141 Foreign unknown recipients include five WWI Unknowns the Belgian Unknown Soldier the British Unknown Warrior the French Unknown Soldier the Italian Unknown Soldier and the Romanian Unknown Soldier 142 U S unknown recipients include one each from four wars World War I 143 World War II 144 Korea 145 and Vietnam 146 The Vietnam Unknown was later identified as Air Force First Lieutenant Michael Blassie through the use of DNA identification Blassie s family asked for his Medal of Honor but the Department of Defense denied the request in 1998 According to Undersecretary of Defense Rudy de Leon the medal was awarded symbolically to all Vietnam unknowns not to Blassie specifically 147 Awards by conflict Conflict Date Medal count 3 530 List articleCivil War 1861 1865 1 523 American Civil War Medal of Honor recipientsIndian Wars 1865 1891 426 Medal of Honor recipients for the Indian WarsKorean Expedition 1871 15 Medal of Honor recipients in KoreaSpanish American War 1898 110 Medal of Honor recipients for the Spanish American WarSecond Samoan Civil War 1899 4 Medal of Honor recipients for the Samoan Civil WarPhilippine American War 1899 1902 86 Philippine American War Medal of Honor recipientsBoxer Rebellion 1899 1901 59 Medal of Honor recipients for the Boxer RebellionOccupation of Veracruz 1914 56 Medal of Honor recipients for VeracruzUnited States occupation of Haiti 1915 1934 8 Medal of Honor recipients for HaitiDominican Republic Occupation 1916 1924 3 Medal of Honor recipients for the Occupation of the Dominican RepublicWorld War I 1914 1918 126 Medal of Honor recipients for World War IOccupation of Nicaragua 1912 1933 2 Medal of Honor recipients for Occupation of NicaraguaWorld War II 1939 1945 472 Medal of Honor recipients for World War IIKorean War 1950 1953 146 Korean War Medal of Honor recipientsVietnam War 1955 1975 261 Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam WarUSS Liberty incident 1967 1 Medal of Honor recipients for the USS Liberty incidentBattle of Mogadishu 1993 2 Medal of Honor recipients for the Battle of MogadishuIraq War 2003 2011 7 Medal of Honor recipients for the Iraq WarWar in Afghanistan 2001 2021 20 Medal of Honor recipients for the War in AfghanistanOperation Inherent Resolve 2014 present 1 Medal of Honor recipients for Operation Inherent ResolvePeacetime 1865 1939 193 Medal of Honor recipients during peacetimeUnknown soldiers 1914 1973 9 Unknown Medal of Honor recipients 4 American and 5 Allies Awards by military branch citation needed Army Navy Marine Corps Air Force Coast Guard Total 148 2 461 749 300 19 1 3 530Note that the number of Air Force recipients does not count recipients from its pre September 19 1947 Army related predecessor organizations Double recipients Edit Nineteen service members have been awarded the Medal of Honor twice 149 The first double Medal of Honor recipient was Thomas Custer brother of George Armstrong Custer for two separate actions that took place several days apart during the American Civil War 150 Five double recipients were awarded both the Army s and Navy s Medal of Honor for the same action with all five of these occurrences taking place during World War I 151 No modern recipients have more than one medal because of laws passed for the Army in 1918 and for the Navy in 1919 which stipulated that no more than one medal of honor shall be issued to any one person although subsequent awards were authorized by issuance of bars or other devices in lieu of the medal itself 152 The statutory bar was finally repealed in the FY2014 defense bill at the request of the Office of the Secretary of Defense meaning that recipients can now be issued more than one medal However no more than one medal may be issued for the same action 153 To date the maximum number of Medals of Honor earned by any service member has been two 40 The last living individual to be awarded two Medals of Honor was John J Kelly October 3 1918 the last individual to receive two Medals of Honor for two different actions was Smedley Butler in 1914 and 1915 Name Service Rank e War s NotesFrank Baldwin Army First Lieutenant Captain American Civil War Indian WarsSmedley Butler Marine Corps Major General Veracruz HaitiJohn Cooper Navy Coxswain American Civil WarLouis Cukela Marine Corps Sergeant World War I Awarded both Navy and Army versions for same action Thomas Custer Army Second Lieutenant American Civil War Battle of Namozine Church on April 3 and Battle of Sayler s Creek on April 6 1865 Daniel Daly Marine Corps Private Gunnery Sergeant Boxer Rebellion Haiti 154 Henry Hogan Army First Sergeant Indian WarsErnest A Janson Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant World War I Both awarded for same action Received the Army MOH under the name Charles F Hoffman John J Kelly Marine Corps Private World War I Both awarded for same action John King Navy Water tender Peacetime 1901 and 1909Matej Kocak Marine Corps Sergeant World War I Both awarded for same action John Lafferty Navy Fireman First Class Fireman American Civil War peacetimeJohn C McCloy Navy Coxswain Chief Boatswain Boxer Rebellion VeracruzPatrick Mullen Navy Boatswain s Mate American Civil WarJohn H Pruitt Marine Corps Corporal World War I Both awarded for same action Robert Sweeney Navy Ordinary Seaman Peacetime 1881 and 1883Albert Weisbogel Navy Captain of the Mizzen Top Peacetime 1874 and 1876Louis Williams Navy Captain of the Hold Peacetime 1883 and 1884 Also known as Ludwig Andreas Olsen William Wilson Army Sergeant Indian WarsRelated recipients Edit Arthur MacArthur Jr and Douglas MacArthur are the first father and son to be awarded the Medal of Honor The only other such pairing is Theodore Roosevelt awarded in 2001 and Theodore Roosevelt Jr Five pairs of brothers have received the Medal of Honor John and William Black in the American Civil War The Blacks are the first brothers to be so honored Charles and Henry Capehart in the American Civil War the latter for saving a drowning man while under fire Antoine and Julien Gaujot The Gaujots also have the unique distinction of receiving their medals for actions in separate conflicts Antoine in the Philippine American War and Julien when he crossed the Mexican border to rescue Mexicans and Americans in a Mexican Revolution skirmish Harry and Willard Miller during the same naval action in the Spanish American War Allen and James Thompson in the same American Civil War action Another notable pair of related recipients are Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher rear admiral at the time of award and his nephew Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher lieutenant at the time of award both awarded for actions during the United States occupation of Veracruz Late awards Edit Since 1979 86 late Medal of Honor awards have been presented for actions from the Civil War to the Vietnam War In addition five recipients whose names were not included on the Army s Medal of Honor Roll in 1917 had their awards restored 155 A 1993 study commissioned by the U S Army investigated racial disparity in the awarding of medals 156 At the time no Medals of Honor had been awarded to U S soldiers of African descent who served in World War II After an exhaustive review the study recommended that ten Distinguished Service Cross recipients be awarded the Medal of Honor On January 13 1997 President Bill Clinton presented the Medal of Honor to seven of these World War II veterans six of them posthumously and one to former Second Lieutenant Vernon Baker 157 In 1998 a similar study of Asian Americans resulted in President Bill Clinton presenting 22 Medals of Honor in 2000 158 Twenty of these medals went to U S soldiers of Japanese descent of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team 442nd RCT who served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II 158 159 One of these Medal of Honor recipients was Senator Daniel Inouye a former U S Army officer in the 442nd RCT 157 In 2005 President George W Bush presented the Medal of Honor to Tibor Rubin a Hungarian born American Jew who was a Holocaust survivor of World War II and enlisted U S infantryman and prisoner of war in the Korean War whom many believed to have been overlooked because of his religion 160 On April 11 2013 President Obama presented the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army chaplain Captain Emil Kapaun for his actions as a prisoner of war during the Korean War 161 This follows other awards to Army Sergeant Leslie H Sabo Jr for conspicuous gallantry in action on May 10 1970 near Se San Cambodia during the Vietnam War 162 and to Army Private First Class Henry Svehla and Army Private First Class Anthony T Kahoʻohanohano for their heroic actions during the Korean War 163 As a result of a congressionally mandated review to ensure brave acts were not overlooked due to prejudice or discrimination on March 18 2014 President Obama upgraded Distinguished Service Crosses to Medals of Honor for 24 Hispanic Jewish and black individuals the Valor 24 for their actions in World War II the Korean War and the Vietnam War 164 Three were still living at the time of the ceremony 164 On November 6 2014 President Obama presented the Medal of Honor posthumously to First Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing for actions on July 3 1863 during the Battle of Gettysburg Lieutenant Cushing s award is the last Medal of Honor to be presented to a soldier in the American Civil War after 151 years since the date of the action 165 27th Maine and other revoked awards Edit A Medal of Honor monument at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin Texas During the Civil War Secretary of War Edwin M Stanton promised a Medal of Honor to every man in the 27th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment who extended his enlistment beyond their separation date The Battle of Gettysburg was imminent and 311 men of the regiment volunteered to serve until the battle was resolved The remaining men returned to Maine and with the Union victory at Gettysburg the 311 volunteers soon followed They arrived back in Maine in time to be discharged with the men who had returned earlier Since there seemed to be no official list of the 311 volunteers the War Department exacerbated the situation by forwarding 864 medals to the commanding officer of the regiment The commanding officer only issued the medals to the volunteers who stayed behind and retained the others on the grounds that if he returned the remainder to the War Department the War Department would try to reissue the medals 166 In 1916 a board of five Army generals on the retired list convened under act of law to review every Army Medal of Honor awarded The board was to report on any Medals of Honor awarded or issued for any cause other than distinguished conduct by an officer or enlisted man in action involving actual conflict with an enemy 37 The commission led by Nelson A Miles identified 911 awards for causes other than distinguished conduct This included the 864 medals awarded to members of the 27th Maine regiment 29 servicemen who served as Abraham Lincoln s funeral guard six civilians including Mary Edwards Walker and Buffalo Bill Cody and 12 others 167 168 Walker s medal was restored by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in 1977 an action that is often attributed to President Jimmy Carter in error 169 Cody and four other civilian scouts who rendered distinguished service in action and who were therefore considered by the board to have fully earned their medals also had their medals restored by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in 1989 170 The report issued by the Medal of Honor review board in 1917 was reviewed by the Judge Advocate General who also advised that the War Department should not seek the return of the revoked medals from the recipients identified by the board In the case of recipients who continued to wear the medal the War Department was advised to take no action to enforce the statute 171 Similarly named U S decorations EditThe following decorations in one degree or another bear similar names to the Medal of Honor but are entirely separate awards with different criteria for issuance Cardenas Medal of Honor decoration of the United States Revenue Cutter Service which was later merged into the United States Coast Guard Congressional Space Medal of Honor the highest honor for NASA astronautsSee also Edit United States portal War portalAfrican American Medal of Honor Recipients Memorial Distinguished Intelligence Cross Home of the Heroes a recognition of Pueblo Colorado for being the hometown of four Medal of Honor recipients Kentucky Medal of Honor Memorial List of Medal of Honor recipients Medal of Honor Memorial Indianapolis Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal Military awards and decorations Texas Medal of Honor MemorialReferences EditFootnotes Edit As amended by Act of July 25 1963 For service in the American Civil War to a U S Army Private Jacob Parrott Quote from War Dept return receipt letter dated March 1865 signed by asst adjutant Edward Townsend that accompanied the Medal of Honor delivered to Private Franklin Johndro for his act on September 30 1864 capturing 49 armed Confederate soldiers U S Coast Guard Signalman First Class Douglas Albert Munro was posthumously awarded the Navy version of the Medal of Honor for bravery at Guadalcanal on September 27 1942 Rank refers to rank held at time of Medal of Honor action Citations Edit a b c Description of Awards U S Military Awards for Valor U S Department of Defense Archived from the original on 2021 06 18 Retrieved 2020 12 25 a b c d Department of the Army July 1 2002 Section 578 4 Medal of Honor Code of Federal Regulations Title 32 Volume 2 United States Government Publishing Office Archived from the original on June 15 2013 Retrieved March 14 2012 DoD Manual 1348 33 Vol 1 October 19 2020 p 4 1 2 b p 8 3 1 a PDF Archived PDF from the original on November 29 2020 Retrieved December 26 2020 whitehouse gov December 16 2021 Archived May 21 2021 at the Wayback Machine Ralph Puckett Statistics of the Medal of Honor for the United States Army U S Army Archived from the original on 2021 03 25 Retrieved 2020 12 19 a b Medal of Honor Mohhsus com Medal of Honor Historical Society of the United States Archived from the original on June 29 2016 Retrieved December 28 2021 as of July 5 2022 there have been 3 534 Medals of Honor awarded including 19 second awards Department of Defense Manual 1348 33 Volume 1 PDF Defense Technical Information Center p 4 Archived from the original PDF on February 9 2017 Retrieved February 25 2017 Senators Who Received the Congressional Medal of Honor United States Senate December 14 2020 Archived from the original on October 26 2020 Retrieved December 14 2020 The Medal of Honor Library of Congress December 14 2020 Archived from the original on October 28 2020 Retrieved December 14 2020 DoD Award Manual November 23 2010 1348 33 P 31 8 c 1 a Tucker Spencer C Arnold James Wiener Roberta 2011 The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars 1607 1890 A Political Social and Military History ABC CLIO p 879 ISBN 978 1 85109 697 8 Archived from the original on January 15 2023 Retrieved March 14 2012 Congressional Medal of Honor Society Archived from the original on August 10 2011 Retrieved October 8 2013 A Brief History The Medal of Honor U S Department of Defense Archived from the original on July 15 2015 Medal of Honor American Battlefield Trust March 23 2018 Archived from the original on March 31 2019 Retrieved July 11 2019 Department of Defense Manual 1348 33 Volume 1 PDF Defense Technical Information Center p 19 Archived from the original PDF on February 9 2017 Retrieved February 25 2017 Pullen John J 1997 A Shower of Stars The Medal of Honor and the 27th Maine Mechanicsburg PA Stackpole Books pp preface p2 ISBN 978 0811700757 Archived from the original on January 15 2023 Retrieved April 15 2010 SECNAVINST 1650 1H P 2 20 224 2 August 22 2006 Public Law 101 564 November 15 1990 Mears 2018 p 18 U S Senate James Grimes A Featured Biography www senate gov Archived from the original on 2017 07 19 Retrieved 2018 02 16 Above and Beyond Boston Publishing Company 1985 p 5 Mears 2018 p 13 Bonds Russell S 2006 Stealing the General Great Locomotive Chase and The First Medal of Honor p 308 ISBN 1 59416 033 3 Two Chief Engineers Were Medal of Honor Recipients Did You Know U S Army Corps of Engineers Archived from the original on August 18 2006 Retrieved July 29 2006 a b Mikaelian amp Wallace 2003 p xviii a b Types of the Medal of Honor 1862 To Present Congressional Medal of Honor Society Archived from the original on August 10 2011 Retrieved March 14 2012 Above and Beyond A History of the Medal of Honor and the Civil War Boston Publishing Company in cooperation with the CMOH Society 1985 p 5 ISBN 0 939526 19 0 These medals were made of copper and coated with bronze Above and Beyond Boston Publishing Company 2006 Above and Beyond Boston Publishing Company 1985 p 5 2nd paragraph Bonds Russell S 2006 Stealing the General The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor p 309 ISBN 978 1 59416 033 2 The medal of honor is bronze of neat device and is highly prized by those of whom it has been bestowed Townsend wrote in an 1864 report Its original design embodied first in the Navy Medal was an inverted five pointed star Above and Beyond A History of the Medal of Honor from the Civil War to Vietnam Boston Publishing Company in cooperation with the CMOH Society 1985 p 5 ISBN 0 939526 19 0 The medals were made of copper and coated with bronze which gave them a reddish tint Above and Beyond 1985 p 5 An Act Making Appropriations for sundry Civil Expenses of the Government for the Year ending June thirty eighteen hundred and sixty four and for the Year ending the 30 th of June 1863 and for other Purposes 37th Congress Sess III 12 Stat 744 Chap 79 And be it further enacted That the President cause to be struck from the dies recently prepared at the United States mint for that purpose Medals of Honor additional to those authorized by the act Resolution of July twelfth eighteen hundred and sixty two and present the same to such officers non commissioned officers and privates as have most distinguished or may hereafter most distinguish themselves in action and the sum of twenty thousand dollars is hereby appropriated out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated to defray the expenses of the same 37th Congress Sess III 12 Stat 751 Chap 79 Sec 6 Bonds Russell S 2006 Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor a b Hargis Robert August 20 2012 World War II Medal of Honor Recipients 2 Army amp Air Corps Osprey Publishing p 3 ISBN 978 1 78200 207 9 Retrieved September 3 2012 Mollan Mark C Summer 2001 The Army Medal of Honor The First Fifty five Years Prologue Magazine 33 2 Archived from the original on July 18 2014 Retrieved September 3 2014 Further depreciating the value of the medal the Grand Army of the Republic and other veterans groups began giving out their own medals some of which looked conspicuously similar to the Medal of Honor Comerford Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tim December 20 2013 A Matter of Honor History of the Medal of Honor navylive dodlive mil Navy Office of Information Archived from the original on September 4 2014 Retrieved September 3 2014 According to Frank the Army redesigned its medal because other organizations had medals that looked similar For example the Grand Army of the Republic had a medal that from far away looked like a MoH a b c Mears 2018 p 53 Polanski Charles 2006 The Medal s History Congressional Medal of Honor Society Archived from the original on September 28 2007 Sterner C Douglas 1999 2009 Restoration of 6 Awards Previously Purged From The Roll of Honor HomeOfHeroes com Archived from the original on 2017 07 02 Retrieved 2020 04 25 a b c Medal of Honor Frequently Asked Questions Navy mil Archived from the original on June 5 2012 Retrieved May 12 2012 Mikaelian amp Wallace 2003 p xxvi Martin John February 5 2004 Medal of Honor Gold or Brass ABC News Archived from the original on March 20 2014 Retrieved September 21 2012 a b c d e f g h Medal of Honor Army US Government The Institute of Heraldry Archived from the original on April 16 2021 Retrieved December 7 2020 a b Defense Standardization Program Office Detail Specification Sheet MIL DTL 3943 1G Revision G dated 29 May 2007 PDF Document Assistdocs com Archived from the original on 28 April 2014 Retrieved November 15 2012 Defense Standardization Program Office Detail Specification Sheet MIL DTL 3943 2H Revision H dated 29 May 2007 PDF Document Assistdocs com Archived from the original on 1 July 2015 Retrieved November 15 2012 a b c Defense Standardization Program Office Detail Specification Sheet MIL DTL 3943 3G Revision G dated 29 May 2007 PDF Document Assistdocs com Archived from the original on 1 July 2015 Retrieved November 15 2012 a b c Schubert Frank N 1997 Black Valor Buffalo Soldiers and the Medal of Honor 1870 1898 Scholarly Resources Inc pp 2 6 ISBN 9780842025867 Mears 2018 pp 82 221 Mears 2018 pp 82 83 a b c Mears 2018 p 84 Naval History amp Heritage Command January 23 2008 The Medal of Honor Navy Medals of Honor 1861 1941 The Tiffany Cross pattern Department of the Navy Archived from the original on August 22 2010 Retrieved November 30 2012 Mears 2018 p 148 Mears 2018 p 149 a b Mears 2018 p 94 Mears 2018 p 95 Medal of Honor History Exhibits State Historical Society of Iowa Archived from the original on September 28 2013 Retrieved January 28 2013 Robert F Dorr Fred L Borch November 4 2005 History in Blue Air Force Times Archived from the original on February 15 2013 Retrieved January 22 2013 Mears 2018 p 114 Institute of Heraldry Bluebird 67117 Tioh hqda pentagon mil Archived from the original on December 19 2011 Retrieved November 15 2012 The Medal Congressional Medal of Honor Society Archived from the original on June 23 2007 Retrieved July 21 2006 Freeman George A 2008 The Forgotten 500 The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All for the Greatest Rescue Mission of World War II Penguin p 269 ISBN 978 0 451 22495 8 Archived from the original on January 15 2023 Retrieved September 3 2014 Seventh in the order of precedence of military decorations the Legion of Merit is one of only two U S decorations to be issued as a neck order meaning it is worn on a ribbon around the neck The other is the esteemed Medal of Honor Zabecki David T April 26 2010 Ask MHQ Any Reason the U S Legion of Merit Looks Like the French Legion of Honor historynet com Weider History Archived from the original on January 1 2015 Retrieved September 3 2014 For the degree of Commander the badge is worn from a neck ribbon The Medal of Honor is the only other American decoration worn from the neck Legion of Merit Awards Institute of Heraldry Archived from the original on March 31 2012 Retrieved March 14 2012 Legion of Merrit afpc af mil United States Air Force August 3 2010 Archived from the original on September 15 2012 Retrieved September 3 2014 The degrees of chief commander and commander are conferred on members of foreign governments only and are awarded for services comparable to those for which the Distinguished Service Medal is given to members of the United States armed forces Congressional Medal of Honor site History of the Medal of Honor May 2 1896 20 Stat 473 Double Recipients Congressional Medal of Honor Society Archived from the original on February 28 2012 Retrieved March 14 2012 Department of Defense Manual 1348 33 Volume 1 PDF Defense Technical Information Center p 10 Archived from the original PDF on February 9 2017 Retrieved February 25 2017 Department of Defense Manual 1348 33 Volume 1 PDF Defense Technical Information Center p 20 Archived from the original PDF on February 9 2017 Retrieved February 25 2017 Medal of Honor Flag Archived from the original on November 26 2016 Special Forces veteran s idea leads to new Medal of Honor Flag Army News Service Archived from the original on January 11 2006 Retrieved July 24 2006 Medal of Honor Flag The Institute of Heraldry US Army Archived from the original on September 11 2006 Retrieved July 21 2006 Cramer Eric W March 29 2005 First Medal of Honor Flag to be presented Army News Service US Army Archived from the original on July 21 2006 Retrieved July 21 2006 Old Ironsides Hosts Medal of Honor Recipients Navy Newsstand US Navy 2006 Archived from the original on October 8 2006 Retrieved October 1 2006 Medal of Honor Citations History army mil June 4 2008 Archived from the original on June 11 2009 Retrieved January 3 2012 Ron Owens Medal of Honor historical facts and figures Turner 2004 ISBN 978 1 68162 240 8 Medal of Honor Recipients Tell Their Stories C SPAN National Cable Satellite Corporation November 21 2012 Archived from the original on April 14 2013 Retrieved January 28 2013 The Medal of Honor is the highest U S military honor and is usually presented by the President of the United States 10 U S C 3752 Jeff Schogol Leoo Shane III January 12 2007 Marine posthumously awarded Medal of Honor Stars and Stripes Archived from the original on February 19 2013 Retrieved January 28 2013 At the ceremony Bush noted that more than half of the Medal of Honor recipients since World War II have died earning it Mikaelian amp Wallace 2003 p xvii argis Robert H Sinton Starr 2003 World War II Medal of Honor recipients 1 Navy amp USMC Osprey Publishing p 6 ISBN 978 1 84176 613 3 Retrieved March 14 2012 Medal of Honor Recipients Interim Awards 1920 1940 United States Army Center of Military History Archived from the original on April 20 2010 Retrieved July 23 2006 a b c Act of July 9 1918 40 Stat 870 Buffalo Bill s Medal Restored The New York Times July 9 1989 Archived from the original on December 19 2016 Retrieved December 30 2016 History of the Medal of Honor CMOHS org Archived from the original on August 28 2011 Retrieved November 15 2012 Mears 2018 pp 97 98 Tillman Barrett 2003 Above and Beyond The Aviation Medals of Honor Washington D C Smithsonian Institution Press p 3 Encyclopedia Virginia Encyclopedia Virginia February 19 1927 Archived from the original on May 17 2013 Retrieved May 26 2012 An Act to Amend the Act Approved February 4 1919 40 Stat 1056 August 7 1942 Public Law 702 56 Stat 743 45 An Act to Amend Titles 10 14 and 38 United States Code with Respect to the Award of Certain Medals and the Medal of Honor Roll July 25 1956 HR 2998 Public Law 88 77 77 Stat 93 DoD Awards Manual 1348 33 V1 October 12 2011 November 23 2010 pp 31 32 8 Medal of Honor 1 a 1 2 3 k p 10 Title 10 US Code sections 3741 6241 and 8741 Titles 14 amp 38 not referenced by DoD a b An Act to Amend Titles 10 14 and 38 United States Code with Respect to the Award of Certain Medals and the Medal of Honor Roll July 25 1963 HR 2998 Public Law 88 77 77 Stat 93 DoD Manual 1348 33 V1 Oct 12 2011 November 23 2010 pp 31 amp 32 8 Medal of Honor 1 a 3 k p 10 Title 10 US Code sections 3741 6241 and 8741 Title 14 amp 38 not referenced By DoD a b Subcommittee No 2 Consideration of HR2998 A Bill to Amend Titles 10 14 and 38 United States Code with Respect to the Award of Certain Medals and the Medal of Honor Roll House of Representatives Committee of Armed Services June 6 1963 Executive order 11046 DoD Awards Manual 1348 33 V3 October 12 2011 November 23 2010 pp 19 21 4 Bronze Star Medal Title 10 amp 37 is referenced by DoD Titles 14 amp 38 is not referenced by DoD An Act Making Appropriations for the Support of the Army for the Fiscal Year Ending June Thirtieth Nineteen Hundred and Nineteen July 9 1918 HR12281 Public Law 193 40 Stat 870 Sec 3741 Medal of honor award Cornell University January 26 1998 Archived from the original on January 15 2023 Retrieved January 26 2012 Medal of Honor Recipients Tricare Archived from the original on October 19 2012 Retrieved May 16 2012 Special Benefits and Allowances Table Dept of Veterans Affairs Archived from the original on July 22 2006 Retrieved July 24 2006 Department of Veterans Affairs Special Benefit Allowances Rates 2022 16 December 2021 Archived from the original on 5 June 2022 Retrieved 12 June 2022 32 U S C 578 9 Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on December 13 2012 Retrieved January 11 2013 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link p 85 Process Medal of Honor United States Army December 21 2012 Archived from the original on September 1 2011 Retrieved January 28 2013 32 CFR 553 15 d 1 Admissions USNA Archived from the original on July 20 2011 10 U S C 3991 14 U S C 505 Shaughnessy Larry February 8 2011 America s newest Medal of Honor recipient is leaving the Army CNN Archived from the original on November 9 2012 Retrieved February 9 2011 Even though he s leaving the Army Giunta is entitled to a number of special benefits reserved for Medal of Honor recipients including a monthly Veterans Affairs pension of more than 1 237 a month for life as well as an invitation to every presidential inauguration and inauguration party Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia PDF Department of the Army p 316 Archived from the original PDF on April 6 2015 Retrieved September 21 2011 Application for Valor Specific License Plate PDF Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles State of Delaware March 2001 Archived PDF from the original on November 5 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Military License Plate Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Archived from the original on November 16 2012 Retrieved January 28 2013 Military personnel Motor Vehicle Commission State of New Jersey January 31 2011 Archived from the original on January 28 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 40 2 68 Special license plates for Medal of Honor winners Georgia Statutes Laws com 2010 Archived from the original on November 5 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 State Territory Benefits Connecticut My Army Benefits United States Army February 13 2012 Archived from the original on July 2 2017 Retrieved January 30 2013 Congressional Medal of Honor Plates Massachusetts Department of Transportation Commonwealth of Massachusetts 2012 Archived from the original on September 15 2012 Retrieved January 30 2013 Military Related Plates Department of Transportation State of Maryland Archived from the original on May 22 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Plate Galleries South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles State of South Carolina 2007 Archived from the original on January 27 2013 Retrieved January 28 2013 Special Plates Plate Information Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Commonwealth of Virginia 2012 Archived from the original on November 24 2010 Retrieved January 30 2013 Custom Plate Gallery Military and Veterans New York State Department of Motor Vehicles State of New York 2013 Archived from the original on December 30 2012 Retrieved January 30 2013 Military Veteran s Registration Plate Application PDF North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles State of North Carolina January 2012 Archived from the original PDF on December 30 2012 Retrieved January 30 2013 State Territory Benefits Kentucky My Army Benefits United States Army January 9 2013 Archived from the original on January 30 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Specialty License Plates Military Memorial Department of Revenue State of Tennessee Archived from the original on January 27 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Congressional Medal of Honor Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles State of Ohio Archived from the original on January 25 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Congressional Medal of Honor License Plates Office of Motor Vehicles State of Louisiana December 1 2012 Archived from the original on November 5 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 BMV news PDF Bureau of Motor Vehicles State of Indiana December 20 2011 Archived from the original PDF on January 24 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Section 32 6 231 1 2009 Alabama Code Justia com 2009 Archived from the original on November 5 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Maine License Plates Secretary of State State of Maine 2007 Archived from the original on January 14 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Application for Missouri Military Personalized License Plates PDF Missouri Department of Revenue State of Missouri August 20 2012 Archived PDF from the original on May 12 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Military Speciality Plates and Placards Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration State of Arkansas 2011 Archived from the original on June 25 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Medal of Honor Department of State State of Michigan 2013 Archived from the original on January 28 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Military License Plates Florida Department of Highway Safety amp Motor Vehicles State of Florida 2011 Archived from the original on April 24 2012 Retrieved January 30 2013 Sec 504 001 Transportation Code State of Texas Archived from the original on April 2 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Personalized and specialty plates Iowa Department of Transportation State of Iowa 2012 Archived from the original on January 23 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Medal of Honor license plates Wisconsin Department of Transportation State of Wisconsin March 20 2009 Archived from the original on January 21 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Special Recognition License Plates California Department of Motor Vehicles State of California 2021 Archived from the original on November 30 2021 Retrieved January 26 2022 Minnesota Veteran Military and related license plates Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs State of Minnesota 2010 Archived from the original on January 23 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Veteran amp Military Service related License Plates Oregon DMV State of Oregon Archived from the original on February 11 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Kansas Medal of Honor Plate Kansas Department of Revenue State of Kansas 2012 Archived from the original on October 25 2012 Retrieved January 30 2013 Special License Plates West Virginia Department of Transportation State of West Virginia 2013 Archived from the original on February 1 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Veterans License Plates Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles State of Nevada 2013 Archived from the original on October 23 2012 Retrieved January 30 2013 Military Plates Department of Revenue State of California 2013 Archived from the original on February 4 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Congressional Medal of Honor License Plates South Dakota Department of Revenue State of South Dakota Archived from the original on November 16 2012 Retrieved January 30 2013 Medal of Honor plates Washington State Department of Licensing State of Washington 2013 Archived from the original on March 11 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Idaho Code 49 415A Congressional Medal of Honor License Plates Vehicle Registration LawServer Online Inc 2013 Archived from the original on November 5 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 State Benefits Oklahoma Department of Veterans State of Oklahoma November 7 2012 Archived from the original on February 1 2012 Retrieved January 30 2013 License Plates Details New Mexico Motor Vehicle Department State of New Mexico 2011 Archived from the original on May 17 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Plates and Placards Arizona Department of Transportation State of Arizona Archived from the original on January 26 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 State Territory Benefits New Hampshire My Army Benefits United States Army July 25 2012 Archived from the original on February 2 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 State Territory Benefits Rhode Island My Army Benefits United States Army March 7 2012 Archived from the original on February 15 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 State Territory Benefits Vermont My Army Benefits United States Army July 21 2011 Archived from the original on February 15 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 State Territory Benefits Nebraska My Army Benefits United States Army November 11 2010 Archived from the original on February 15 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 State Territory Benefits North Dakota My Army Benefits United States Army September 23 2010 Archived from the original on February 15 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 State Territory Benefits Montana My Army Benefits United States Army October 5 2012 Archived from the original on January 31 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 State Territory Benefits Wyoming My Army Benefits United States Army December 30 2011 Archived from the original on February 15 2013 Retrieved January 28 2013 State Territory Benefits Utah My Army Benefits United States Army June 28 2012 Archived from the original on January 27 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 State Territory Benefits Alaska My Army Benefits United States Army October 29 2012 Archived from the original on February 15 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 State Territory Benefits Hawaii My Army Benefits United States Army December 6 2012 Archived from the original on February 2 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 United States Army The Soldier s Guide Archived September 3 2012 at the Wayback Machine 2003 Chapter 4 USCG CG 5421 Web Site Customs amp Courtesy Uscg mil February 18 2011 Archived from the original on March 14 2016 Retrieved January 3 2012 Air Force Instruction 1 1 PDF November 12 2014 Archived PDF from the original on March 22 2021 Retrieved March 9 2021 Mears 2018 p 43 a b c Types of Medals of Honor Archived 2011 08 10 at the Wayback Machine From the website of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Retrieved on July 1 2012 a b Patent number D37236 November 22 1904 Retrieved May 16 2012 See Notes to 18 U S C 704 Archived 2017 07 03 at the Wayback Machine citing 42 Stat 1286 Retrieved on June 30 2012 Pub L 103 322 The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 320109 Archived 2018 12 07 at the Wayback Machine page 318 of the PDF version Retrieved on June 30 2012 Pub L 109 437 The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 Archived 2012 03 18 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on June 30 2012 Id S 1998 Stolen Valor Act of 2005 109th U S Congress 2005 2006 GovTrak us Archived from the original on September 27 2007 Retrieved March 8 2007 a b 18 U S C 704 United States v Alvarez slip opinion Archived 2017 06 19 at the Wayback Machine 567 U S 2012 Retrieved on June 30 2012 18 U S C 704 Archived 2023 01 15 at the Wayback Machine See also 18 U S C 3571 b 5 Archived 2017 05 26 at the Wayback Machine specifying the permissible fine for a federal Class A misdemeanor not resulting in death and 18 U S C 3559 a 6 Archived 2017 03 29 at the Wayback Machine defining a federal Class A misdemeanor Retrieved on June 30 2012 Jordan Bryant June 3 2013 Obama Signs New Stolen Valor Act Military com Archived from the original on April 6 2015 Retrieved June 28 2014 Mary E Johnston Combating Thieves of Valor The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 Is Constitutional Yet Unenforced 25 Wm amp Mary Bill Rts J 1355 2017 1358 1359 DoD Manual 1348 33 November 10 2010 Vol 1 P 29 6 a 1 2 amp P 35 i Stealing the General Great Locomotive Chase and The First Medal of Honor ISBN 1 59416 033 3 2006 by Russell S Bonds Comerford Tim A Matter of Honor History of the Medal of Honor Archived from the original on 2020 08 03 Retrieved 2019 11 05 Cpl Mackie s Actions G O 17 July 10 1863 2 Marines awarded the MOH U S Marine Corps Marine Corps Recruiting Command 1st Marine Corps District Archived from the original on March 27 2019 Retrieved April 10 2019 Collier amp Del Calzo 2006 p 19 Mikaelian amp Wallace 2003 p 8 a b About Whitman Walker Clinic Our History Our Namesakes Whitman Walker Clinic Archived from the original on July 1 2015 Retrieved March 29 2015 Mears 2018 pp 53 55 Mears 2018 p 171 Mears 2018 p 175 Canada honours winners of top U S medal CBC News July 1 2005 Archived from the original on May 29 2007 Retrieved July 20 2006 Thousands of Canadians including a Medal of Honor winner served with the U S military in Vietnam Veterans With a Mission July 1 2005 Archived from the original on May 29 2007 Retrieved July 20 2006 An Act Authorizing the President of the United States to present in the name of Congress a medal of honor to Colonel Charles A Lindbergh December 14 1927 HR 3190 Public Law 1 45 Stat 1 Mears 2018 p 91 William Putnam Arctic Superstars The Scientific Exploration and Study of High Mountain Elevations and of the Regions Lying Within or about the Arctic and Antarctic Circles Boulder CO American Alpine Club 2001 171 Medal of Honor Recipients Authorized by Special Acts of Congress History army mil Archived from the original on August 14 2011 Retrieved May 26 2012 War Department General orders No 59 December 13 1921 Sec I Approved March 9 1948 Public Law 438 Eightieth Congress Approved August 31 1957 Public Law 85 251 Eighty fifth Congress Approved May 25 1984 Public Law 98 301 Ninety eighth Congress Medal of Honor Won t Join Once unknown Pilot Chicago Tribune August 23 1998 Medal of Honor Society FAQ Archived from the original on 2021 05 22 Retrieved 2021 05 22 Tucker 2012 p 2 359 Medal of Honor Recipients Thomas W Custer United States Army Center of Military History Archived from the original on June 29 2019 Retrieved September 28 2015 Medal of Honor Statistics History army mil Archived from the original on August 9 2011 Retrieved May 12 2012 Mears 2018 pp 219 221 Mears 2018 p 130 Scott Stephen W 2009 Sergeant Major Dan Daly The Most Outstanding Marine of all Time Publishamerica Publishers ISBN 1 60836 465 8 Congressional Research Service Medal of Honor Recipients 1979 2014 Anne Leland Information Research Specialist December 2 2014 https www fas org sgp crs misc RL30011 pdf Archived 2015 09 24 at the Wayback Machine The report lists the late awards until the end of 2014 seven additional late awards have been presented at the White House three by President Obama in 2015 and 2016 and four by President Trump in 2017 and 2018 Not included as a late award is the award to the Vietnam Unknown in 1984 by President Reagan WWII black MOH recipients United States Army Center of Military History Archived from the original on November 10 2010 Retrieved July 20 2006 a b Collier amp Del Calzo 2006 p 25 a b Rudi Williams June 28 2000 22 Asian Americans Inducted into Hall of Heroes American Forces Press Service United States Department of Defense Archived from the original on December 24 2015 Retrieved March 9 2013 Gregg K Kakesako June 21 2000 Today an old wrong is righted as 22 Asian American heroes are awarded the nation s highest honor for bravery in battle Honolulu Star Bulletin Archived from the original on October 27 2014 Retrieved March 9 2013 Nguyen Huy Vu October 18 2005 Medal of Honor recipient just did duty Orange County Register Archived from the original on December 13 2014 Retrieved March 9 2013 Tom Tugend May 16 2002 Pentagon Reviews Jewish Veteran Files Jewish Journal Archived from the original on July 1 2015 Retrieved September 28 2015 Corporal Tibor Rubin Korean War Veteran Medal of Honor Corporal Tibor Rubin United States Army February 1 2013 Archived from the original on January 21 2013 Retrieved March 9 2013 Barack Obama 2013 Army Chaplain Gets Posthumous Medal of Honor Associated Press Archived from the original on April 20 2013 Retrieved April 16 2013 Medal of Honor for US Army chaplain Father Kapaun BBC News April 11 2013 Archived from the original on April 14 2013 Retrieved April 16 2013 Krissah Thompson April 11 2013 Obama awards Kapaun Medal of Honor Washington Post Archived from the original on April 14 2013 Retrieved April 16 2013 GI killed in Vietnam War receives Medal of Honor CBS News May 16 2012 Archived from the original on May 17 2012 Retrieved May 16 2012 Marsh Wendell May 2 2011 Two Korean War vets receive Medal of Honor posthumously Reuters Archived from the original on May 6 2011 a b Valor 24 Medal of Honor World War II Korean War Vietnam War PDF U S Army Combined Arms Center March 18 2014 Archived from the original PDF on July 14 2014 Retrieved June 3 2014 List with basic details is at U S Army s List of Recipients Archived 2015 05 02 at the Wayback Machine Heiser John Lt Alonzo Cushing at Gettysburg nps gov National Park Service Archived from the original on April 2 2021 Retrieved December 27 2020 Mikaelian amp Wallace 2003 p xix Mikaelian amp Wallace 2003 p xxv Collier amp Del Calzo 2006 p 15 Mears 2018 pp 168 171 Collier amp Del Calzo 2006 p 16 66th Congress 1st Session Document 58 General Staff and Medals of Honor ordered to be printed July 23 1919 Works cited Edit This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History not specific enough to verify Collier Peter Del Calzo Nick 2006 Medal of Honor Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty 2nd ed New York Workman Publishing Company ISBN 978 1 57965 314 9 OCLC 852666368 Mears Dwight S 2018 The Medal of Honor The Evolution of America s Highest Military Decoration Lawrence KS University Press of Kansas ISBN 9780700626656 OCLC 1032014828 Mikaelian Allen Wallace Mike 2003 Medal of Honor Profiles of America s Military Heroes from the Civil War to the Present New York Hyperion Books ISBN 978 0 7868 8576 3 Tucker Spencer 2012 Almanac of American Military History Vol 1 Santa Barbara CA ABC CLIO ISBN 978 1 59884 530 3 Further reading EditBroadwater Robert P 2007 Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients A Complete Illustrated Record Jefferson NC McFarland amp Co ISBN 978 0 7864 3223 3 OCLC 144767966 Collier Peter Del Calzo Nick 2011 Medal of Honor Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty 3rd ed New York Artisan ISBN 978 1 57965 462 7 OCLC 712124011 Curtis Arthur S 1969 37 Greatest Navy Heroes Including the Story of Marvin Shields First Seabee Medal of Honor Hero Vietnam Washington D C OCLC 10660663 DeKever Andrew J 2008 Here Rests in Honored Glory Life Stories of Our Country s Medal of Honor Recipients Bennigton Vermont Merriam Press ISBN 978 1 4357 1749 7 OCLC 233835859 Foster Frank C 2002 A Complete Guide to All United States Military Medals 1939 to Present Fountain Inn S C MOA Press ISBN 978 1 884452 18 5 OCLC 54755134 Hanna Charles W 2010 black Recipients of the Medal of Honor A Biographical Dictionary Civil War Through Vietnam War Jefferson N C Mcfarland ISBN 978 0 7864 4911 8 OCLC 476156919 Johnson John L 2007 Every Night amp Every Morn Portraits of Asian Hispanic Jewish African American and Native American Recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor Winston Salem NC Tristan Press ISBN 978 0 9799572 0 8 OCLC 180773640 Willbanks James H 2011 America s Heroes Medal of Honor Recipients from the Civil War to Afghanistan Santa Barbara CA ABC CLIO ISBN 978 1 59884 394 1 OCLC 662405903 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Medal of Honor United States Congressional Medal of Honor Society U S Army Medal of Honor Submarine Force Medal of Honor Recipients Submarine Force Museum website List of Native Americans who have received the Medal of Honor History Legend and Myth Hollywood and the Medal of Honor Medal of Honor recipients depicted on film National Medal of Honor Museum of Military History in Chattanooga Tennessee American Valor PBS WETA Loubat J F and Jacquemart Jules Illustrator The Medallic History of the United States of America 1776 1876 U S Army Institute of Heraldry Medal of Honor Army U S Army Institute of Heraldry Medal of Honor Navy U S Army Institute of Heraldry Medal of Honor Air Force Pritzker Military Museum amp Library Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Medal of Honor amp oldid 1133726080, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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