Medal of Honor
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- For the computer game, see Medal of Honor (computer game).
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States. It is awarded "for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty, in actual combat against an armed enemy force." Since it was first awarded during the Civil War, the medal has been awarded 3,460 times, most recently in 2005. All branches of the United States military are eligible to receive the medal, though each branch has a special design. The Medal of Honor is presented by the President of the United States, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces, on behalf of the American people. Several past actions have been elevated to the Medal of Honor based on new evidence or righting old wrongs by the President or by actions of Congress.
Versions of the medal
There are versions of the medal for each of major branches of the U.S. armed forces: the Army, Navy and Air Force. Since the U.S. Marine Corps is administratively a part of the Department of the Navy, Marines receive the Navy medal.
Though a Coast Guard version exists, it has never been issued because the US Coast Guard is subsumed into the US Navy in time of declared war. The Coast Guard was originally part of the US Department of Commerce, and then the US Department of Transporation in peacetime until 9-11, when it was reassigned to the US Department of Homeland Security in peacetime. In the single case of a Coast Guard service member, Signalman 1st Class Douglas Munro, receiving the Medal of Honor, the Navy version was awarded.
The Medal of Honor is one of only two United States military decorations which are presented as neck orders. The other is the Commander's Degree of the Legion of Merit.
History
The first formal system for rewarding acts of individual gallantry by America's fighting men was established by General George Washington on August 7, 1782. Designed to recognize "any singularly meritorious action", the Badge of Military Merit is considered America's first combat decoration (although second oldest after the Fidelity Medallion). Although the Badge of Military Merit fell into disuse after the American Revolutionary War, the idea of a decoration for individual gallantry remained through the early 1800s. In 1847, after the outbreak of the Mexican-American War, a Certificate of Merit was established for any soldier who distinguished himself in action. The certificate was later granted medal status as the Certificate of Merit Medal.
Early in the Civil War, a medal for individual valor was proposed to General Winfield Scott. Scott did not approve the medal; however, such a medal found support in the Navy. Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor, was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on December 21, 1861. The medal was "to be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and Marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry and other seamanlike qualities during the present war." Shortly after this, a resolution similar in wording was introduced on behalf of the Army. Signed into law July 12, 1862, the measure provided for awarding a Medal of Honor: to such noncommissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldier-like qualities, during the present insurrection".
Congress made the Medal of Honor a permanent decoration in 1863. More than 3,400 men and 1 woman have received the award for heroic actions in the nation's battles since that time.
Awarding the medal
There are two distinct means of being approved for the Medal of Honor. The first and most common is nomination by a service member in the chain of command followed by approval at each level of command. The other method is nomination by a member of Congress (generally at the request of a constituent) and approval by a special Act. In either case, the Medal of Honor is presented by the President on behalf of Congress.
The Army Medal of Honor was first awarded to Private Jacob Parrott during the American Civil War and was last officially awarded on September 23, 2005 to Corporal Tibor Rubin, a concentration camp survivor during the Second World War, for actions that occurred during the Korean War in 1950-1953. [1] The criteria for the award became stricter after World War I. In all, 3,460 Medals of Honor have been awarded. Since the beginning of World War II only 852 have been awarded, 526 of them posthumously.
Medal of Honor Flag
The Medal of Honor Flag is given to recipients of the Medal of Honor. The awarding of the flag to future Medal of Honor recipients was approved by both houses of Congress and President George W. Bush in October 2002.
The idea of a flag was initiated and designed by Bill Kendall of Jefferson, Iowa, in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Darrell Lindsey, also of Jefferson, who died in action during World War II. His actual flag design was altered by Sarah LeClerc, of the Institute of Heraldry. She removed the words Medal of Honor along with adding the gold border to Bill Kendall's design.
The flag has a sky blue background with gold fringe. Thirteen white five-pointed stars are arranged as on the current ribbon of the Medal of Honor, in six rows of 1, 2, 3, 2, 3 and 2. The flag has no set proportions.
Public Law 107-248, Section 8143, created a Medal of Honor Flag for presentation to each person to whom a Medal of Honor is awarded after the date of the enactment, October 23, 2002. The first Medal of Honor recipient to receive the official flag was Paul R. Smith. The flag was cased and presented to his family, along with his Medal of Honor.
The Medal of Honor flag appears as a light blue flag with gold fringe bearing thirteen white stars in a configuration as on the Medal of Honor ribbon. The light blue color and white stars are adapted from the Medal of Honor ribbon. The flag commemorates the sacrifice and blood shed for our freedoms and gives emphasis to the Medal of Honor being the highest award for valor by an individual serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.
Congressional Medal of Honor
Although a Medal of Honor is awarded by the President in the name of Congress, it is never properly called the Congressional Medal of Honor. In fact, the official military abbreviation for the medal is MOH. Nevertheless, U.S. Code 18 U.S.C. § 704, which establishes penalties for misuse of the Medal, calls it the Congressional Medal of Honor. Congress authorized a Congressional Medal of Honor Society, while the museum is called the National Medal of Honor Memorial.
Most Medals of Honor have been awarded by the chain of command. However, Congress has occasionally bypassed this process, passing special bills that the President subsequently signs into law, mandating an award of the Medal of Honor to a specific soldier or soldiers. This is the origin of the "Congressional Medal of Honor" term. This process has been followed to award the medal to United States unknown soldiers entombed in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery from World War II and the Korean War. It was also awarded to World War I unknown soldiers of Britain, France, Italy, and Romania. This process most recently occurred when Congress passed legislation mandating the award to Humbert R. Versace, Jon E. Swanson, and Ben L. Salomon as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002. This became Public Law 107-107, which was signed on December 28, 2001.
Authority and privileges
The U.S. Army Medal of Honor was first authorized by joint resolution of Congress on July 12, 1862. The specific authorizing ordinance is found in U.S. Code, Title 10, Subtitle B, Part II, Chapter 357, Section 3741:
- 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, distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.
Later authorizations created similar medals for other branches of the service.
The Medal of Honor confers special privileges on its recipients both by tradition and by law. By tradition, all other soldiers, sailors, and airmen, even higher-ranking officers, initiate the salute. By law, awardees have several benefits:
- Each Medal of Honor awardee may have his 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 the special pension of $1,027 per month. As of December 1, 2004, the pension is subject to cost of living increases.
- Enlisted recipients of the Medal of Honor are entitled to a supplemental uniform allowance.
- Recipients receive special entitlements to air transportation under the provisions of DOD Regulation 4515.13-R.
- Special identification cards and commissary and exchange privileges are provided for Medal of Honor recipients and their eligible dependents.
- Children of recipients are eligible for admission to the United States military academies without regard to the quota requirements.
- Recipients get a ten percent increase in retired pay under 10 U.S.C. § 3991, subject to the 75% limit on total retired pay.
- Those awarded the Medal after October 23, 2002 also receive a Medal of Honor Flag. The law also specifies that all 143 living Medal of Honor recipients receive the flag also along with all future MOH recipients.(14 U.S.C. § 505).
Evolution of awarding criteria
Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy medal of valor, was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on December 21, 1861. One year later, a similar resolution for the Army was created. The medal was first awarded to six Union soldiers who hijacked the General, a Confederate locomotive. Raid leader James J. Andrews, a civilian hanged as a Union spy, did not get the medal because it was originally given only to enlisted men. Army officers first received them in 1891 and Naval officers in 1915. Many Medals of Honor awarded in the 19th century were associated with saving the flag, not just for patriotic reasons, but because the flag was a primary means of battlefield communication. During the Civil War, no other military award was authorized, which explains some of the less-notable actions being awarded the Medal of Honor. In the post-World War II era, many of those awarded might be instead awarded a Silver Star, Navy Cross or similar award.
During the Civil War, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton was in a bind for troops. He promised a Medal of Honor to every man in the 27th Regiment, Maine Infantry who extended his enlistment beyond the agreed upon date. Many stayed four days extra, and then were discharged. Due to confusion, Stanton awarded a Medal of Honor to every man in the regiment, in all 864 different members.
In 1916, a law was passed calling for a board of five Army generals to review every Army Medal of Honor awarded. The commission, led by Nelson Miles, recommended that the Army rescind 911 medals. This included 864 medals awarded to members of the 27th Maine, 29 who served as Abraham Lincoln's funeral guard, 6 civilians (including Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, the only woman to ever be awarded the medal, and Buffalo Bill Cody), and 12 others whose awards were judged frivolous. Dr. Walker's medal was restored posthumously by President Jimmy Carter in 1977.
The Navy, early in the 20th century, awarded many Medals of Honor for peacetime bravery. For instance, seven medals were awarded to sailors aboard the USS Iowa when a boiler exploded on January 25, 1904. Aboard the USS Chicago in 1901, John Henry Helms was awarded the medal for saving Ishi Tomizi, the ship's cook, from drowning. Even after World War I, the medal was awarded to Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett for exploration of the North Pole. Thomas John Ryan received it for saving a woman from the burning Grand Hotel in Yokohama, Japan following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake.
Between 1919 and 1942, the Navy issued two separate versions of the Medal of Honor, one for peacetime bravery and the other for combat actions against the enemy force. The peacetime Medal of Honor was known as the "Tiffany Cross", after the company that manufactured the medal. The Tiffany Cross was first issued in 1919, but was rare and unpopular. As a result, the United States Navy reverted to a single Medal of Honor, awarded only for heroism, in 1942.
Since the beginning of World War II, the medal has only been awarded for extreme bravery beyond the call of duty, where a service member consistently and persistently put his comrades' safety foremost, to the utter disregard of his own life, while engaged in action against an enemy. Due to these criteria, the medal is often, although not always, awarded posthumously.
Before the posthumous awarding of the Medal of Honor in 2005 to Paul R. Smith, the medal was last awarded during the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, when MSG Gary Gordon and SFC Randy Shughart lost their lives defending downed Black Hawk helicopter pilot CWO Michael Durant. In all, only 3 Medals of Honor have been awarded for actions since the Vietnam War. Various times after the Vietnam War, past heroism was recognized and previous awards have been upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
Appearance
The Medal of Honor has evolved in appearance since its creation in 1862. The present day Army medal consists of a gold star surrounded by a wreath, topped by an eagle on a bar inscribed with the word "Valor." The medal is attached to a thick blue ribbon, which is then worn around the neck.
The United States Navy and United States Air Force have different designs; United States Marines receive the Navy's version of the Medal of Honor.
The Air Force Medal of Honor is the only one of the service MOHs that remains unchanged in appearance since its conception, in 1965.
The Coast Guard Medal of Honor, which was distinguished from the Navy medal in 1963, has never been awarded. No design yet exists for it. It is considered a conjectural decoration by the Institute of Heraldry.
Only one member of the Coast Guard has ever received a Medal of Honor, Douglas Munro, who was awarded the Navy version of the medal for action at the battle of Guadalcanal.
In the rare cases (19 so far) where a service member has earned more than one Medal of Honor, regulations specify that an appropriate award device will be centered on the MOH ribbon and neck medal. The U.S. Army and Air Force bestow oak leaf clusters while the Navy Medal of Honor is worn with gold award stars to indicate multiple presentations of the Medal of Honor.
On a ribbon bar, the Medal of Honor ribbon is the first ribbon placed on the bar (top left when seen on the uniform). The ribbon bar's design is the same blue as the neck ribbon, and it includes five white stars, pointed upwards, in the shape of an "M." For civilian wear, a rosette is issued instead of a miniature lapel pin (which usually shows the ribbon bar). The rosette is the same blue as the neck ribbon and also includes white stars. The ribbon bar and rosette are presented at the same time as the neck ribbon. On special occasions, the medal itself can be worn on civilian attire.
Legal protection
The Medal of Honor is the only service decoration that cannot be privately bought, traded, or sold. All Medals of Honor are issued in the original only, by the Department of Defense, to a recipient. Misuse of the medal, including unauthorized manufacture or wear, is punishable by fine and imprisonment pursuant to 18USC704(b).
After the Army redesigned their medal in 1903, a patent was issued (United States Patent #D37,236) to legally prevent others from making the medal. When the patent expired, the Federal government enacted a law making it illegal to produce, wear, or distribute the Medal of Honor without proper authority.
Violators of this law have been prosecuted. In 2003, two persons, Edward and Gisela Fedora, were charged with violating 18USC704(b) - Unlawful Sale of a Medal of Honor. They sold medals awarded to US Navy Seaman Robert Blume (for action during the Spanish-American War) and to US Army First Sergeant George Washington Roosevelt (for action during the Civil War) to an FBI agent.
Medal of Honor Imposters
Although it is illegal to wear the Medal of Honor without authorization, one can still to claim to be a recipient, unless such a claim is made with the intent of securing veteran benefits. A large number of veteran organizations and private companies devote themselves to exposing those who falsely claim entitlement to the Medal of Honor. See [2], [3] and [4].
Legislation has been proposed to sanction those who falsely represent themselves to be Medal of Honor recipients.
Medal of Honor controversies
A 1992 study commissioned by the Army described systematic racial discrimination in the criteria for awarding medals during World War II. At the time, no Medals of Honor had been awarded to black soldiers who served in World War II. After an exhaustive review of files the study recommended that several black Distinguished Service Cross recipients be upgraded to the Medal of Honor. On January 13, 1997, President Bill Clinton awarded the medal to seven African American World War II veterans. A similar study of Asian Americans in 1998 resulted in President Clinton awarding 21 new Medals of Honor in 2000, including 20 to Japanese American members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (one of whom was Senator Daniel Inouye). In 2005, President George W. Bush awarded the Medal of Honor to Jewish veteran and Holocaust-camp survivor Tibor Rubin.
Just as the Medal of Honor has been awarded retrospectively where denied due to prejudice, it has been granted under circumstances that raise similar issues. The American Indian Movement has asked that the 20 medals awarded at the Wounded Knee Massacre be rescinded.[5]
Medals of Honor statistics
In total, 3,460 medals have been awarded to 3,409 different people. Nineteen men received a second award: fourteen of these men received two separate Medals for two separate actions; five received both the Navy and the Army Medals of Honor for the same action. Since the beginning of World War II, 851 Medals of Honor have been awarded, 525 posthumously. In total, 615 had their Medals presented posthumously.
The only female Medal of Honor awardee was Mary Edwards Walker, a Civil War surgeon. Her medal was rescinded in 1917 along with many other non-combat awards. It was restored by President Jimmy Carter in 1977.
Sixty-one Canadians who were serving in the United States armed forces have been awarded the Medal of Honor, with a majority awarded for actions in the American Civil War. Since the year 1900, only four were awarded to Canadians. [6] In the Vietnam War, Peter C. Lemon was the only Canadian receipient of the Medal of Honor. [7]
By conflict
| Conflict | Awards |
|---|---|
| Civil War | 1522 |
| Indian Wars | 426 |
| Korean Expedition | 15 |
| Spanish-American War | 110 |
| Samoan Civil War | 4 |
| Philippine-American War | 86 |
| Boxer Rebellion | 59 |
| Mexican Expedition | 56 |
| Invasion of Haiti | 8 |
| Occupation of the Dominican Republic | 3 |
| World War I | 124 |
| Occupation of Nicaragua | 2 |
| World War II | 464 |
| Korean War | 131 |
| Vietnam War | 245 |
| Battle of Mogadishu | 2 |
| Iraq War | 1 |
| Peacetime | 193 |
| Unknowns | 9 |
By branch of service
| Service | Awards |
|---|---|
| Army | 2401 |
| Navy | 745 |
| Marines | 296 |
| Air Force | 17 |
| Coast Guard | 1 |
Names of Medal of Honor Recipients
As of 2005, there are 3460 recipients of the Medal of Honor. Several online data bases list them:
- Living MOH recipients
- USMC Website Marine MOH recipients
- CMOS Society full lists, lists by service, living recipients
Similar decorations
United States
The following United States decorations bear similar names to the Medal of Honor, but are considered separate awards with different criteria for issuance.
- Congressional Space Medal of Honor
- Congressional Gold Medal of Honor
- Cardenas Medal of Honor: decoration of the Revenue Cutter Service, merged into the United States Coast Guard
- Chaplain's Medal of Honor: awarded posthumously for a single action to four recipients
Several United States law enforcement decorations also bear the name "Medal of Honor". The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor is also typically considered the police equivalent to the Medal of Honor. The highest civilian honor of all is the Presidential Medal of Freedom, considered to be a direct civilian equivalent of the Medal of Honor.
Foreign awards
The following countries have high military awards similar to the Medal of Honor:
- France: Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honor)
- India: Param Vir Chakra
- Poland: Virtuti Militari
- Russian Federation: Hero of the Russian Federation
- United Kingdom and Commonwealth: Victoria Cross
- United Kingdom and Commonwealth: George Cross
- Australia and Canada : Cross of Valour replaces the George Cross
Obsolete awards
The following obsolete military decorations were similar to the Medal of Honor
- Vietnam Military Merit Medal (South Vietnam)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Nazi Germany)
- Hero of the Soviet Union (Soviet Union)
See also
- List of Medal of Honor recipients
- Category:Medal of Honor recipients
- List of military decorations
- List of fictional Medal of Honor recipients
Notes
- ^ http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/citation/index.html - Paul Smith's Medal of Honor Citation.
- ^ http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/07/01/canadians-usmedal050701.html - CBC News Article about America honoring Canadian Medal of Honor recepients.
- ^ http://www.vwam.com/vets/allies/canadians.html - Veterans With A Mission website, discussing Canadian involvement in Vietnam.
- A Brief History - The Medal of Honor. Quoted from "Armed Forces Decorations and Awards," a publication of the American Forces Information Service.
External links
- Congressional Medal of Honor Society. (2004) Official Society of Medal of Honor Recipients Retrieved November 23, 2004.
- US Army Center for Military History
- US Army Human Resources Command. Medal of Honor designs
- Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2003) Press Release on illegal sale of the Medal of Honor Accessed November 23, 2004.
- C. Douglas Sterner. (2004) 1917 Army Purge Retrieved November 23, 2004.
- US Army Center for Military History Asian American WWII veteran review
- US Army Medal of Honor Statistics
- US Army Medal of Honor Recommendation Process and Benefits
- Medal of Honor Flag, The Institute of Heraldry.
- Special Forces veteran’s idea leads to new Medal of Honor flag, Army News, April 28, 2005.
