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Medal of Honour

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Military History and War

   Medal of Honour
   From left to right, the Army, Navy and Air Force medals
   Awarded by the United States of America
   Type Single-grade neck order
   Eligibility Military personnel only
   Awarded for "...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 while engaged in an action
   against an enemy of the United States..."
   Status Currently awarded
   Statistics
   First awarded American Civil War
   Last awarded 2006- 11-10
   Total awarded 3,461
   Posthumous
   awards 615
   Distinct
   recipients 3,442
   Precedence
   Next highest None
   Next lowest Army - Distinguished Service Cross
   Navy - Navy Cross
   Air Force - Air Force Cross

   The Medal of Honour is the highest military decoration awarded by the
   United States. It is often colloquially referred to as the
   Congressional Medal of Honour because the President presents the award
   "in the name of the Congress". It is bestowed on a member of the United
   States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself "...
   conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life
   above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an
   enemy of the United States ..."

   Members of all branches of the U.S. military are eligible to receive
   the medal, and each service has a unique design (although the Marine
   Corps uses the Navy's medal and the Coast Guard's version has never
   been awarded). The Medal of Honour is often presented personally to the
   recipient or, in the case of posthumous awards, to survivors, by the
   President of the United States. Due to its high status, the medal has
   special protection under U.S. law.

   The Medal of Honour is one of only two American military awards worn
   around the neck; the other is the Commander's Degree of the Legion of
   Merit. Whereas the Medal of Honour is a military award for valor —
   actions taken during combat operations at risk of one's own life that
   are above and beyond the call of duty — the Legion of Merit is a merit
   award. The Commander's Degree of the Legion of Merit is also not
   awarded to United States military personnel but to foreign dignitaries.

Origin

   The first formal system for rewarding acts of individual gallantry by
   American soldiers was established by George Washington on August 7,
   1782, when he created the Badge of Military Merit, designed to
   recognize "any singularly meritorious action." This decoration is
   America's first combat award and the second oldest American military
   decoration of any type, after the Fidelity Medallion.

   Although the Badge of Military Merit fell into disuse after the
   American Revolutionary War, the concept of a military award for
   individual gallantry by members of the U.S. armed forces had been
   established. In 1847, after the outbreak of the Mexican-American War, a
   Certificate of Merit was established for soldiers who distinguished
   themselves 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 (by
   James W. Grimes) to Winfield Scott, the Commanding General of the
   United States Army. Scott did not approve the proposal, but the medal
   did come into use 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." Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles
   directed the Philadelphia Mint to design the new decoration. Shortly
   afterward, a resolution of similar wording was introduced on behalf of
   the Army, which was signed into law on July 12, 1862. This measure
   provided for awarding a Medal of Honour, which the Navy version also
   came to be called: "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."

Appearance

   Early Army versions of the Medal of Honor.
   Enlarge
   Early Army versions of the Medal of Honour.
   Early Navy versions of the Medal of Honor.
   Enlarge
   Early Navy versions of the Medal of Honour.

   The Medal of Honour has evolved in appearance since its creation in
   1862. The present 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 by a hook to a light blue moired silk neckband
   that is 1 3⁄16 inches in width and 21¾ inches in length.

   There is a version of the medal for each branch 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. Before 1965, when the U.S. Air Force design was
   adopted, members of the U.S. Army Air Corps, U.S. Army Air Forces, and
   Air Force received the Army version of the medal.

   The Coast Guard Medal of Honor, which was distinguished from the Navy
   medal in 1963, has never been awarded, partly because the U.S. Coast
   Guard is subsumed into the U.S. Navy in time of declared war. No design
   yet exists for it. Only one member of the Coast Guard has ever received
   a Medal of Honour, Signalman 1st Class Douglas Munro, who was awarded
   the Navy version of the medal for action during the Battle of
   Guadalcanal.

   In the rare cases (19 thus far) where a service member has been awarded
   more than one Medal of Honor, regulations specify that an appropriate
   award device be centered on the MOH ribbon and neck medal. To indicate
   multiple presentations of the Medal of Honour the U.S. Army and Air
   Force bestow oak leaf clusters, while the Navy Medal of Honour is worn
   with gold award stars.
   Medal of Honor ribbon.
   Enlarge
   Medal of Honour ribbon.

   On a ribbon bar, the Medal of Honor ribbon is in a special position; it
   is worn on a single bar alone, centered 1/4 inch above the centre of
   the upper row of other ribbons. The ribbon is the same shade of light
   blue as the neckband, 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 shade of blue as the neck ribbon and includes
   white stars. The ribbon and rosette are presented at the same time as
   the Medal.

Flag

   Medal of Honor Flag
   Enlarge
   Medal of Honour Flag

   On October 23, 2003, Pub.L. 107-248 was enacted, modifying 36 U.S.C.
   § 903, authorizing a Medal of Honour flag to be presented to recipients
   of the decoration.

   The flag was based on a concept by retired Army Special Forces 1st Sgt.
   Bill Kendall of Jefferson, Iowa, who designed a flag to honor Medal of
   Honour recipient Captain Darrell Lindsey, a B-26 pilot killed in World
   War II who was also from Jefferson. Kendall's design of a light blue
   field emblazoned with thirteen white five-pointed stars was nearly
   identical to that of Sarah LeClerc of the Institute of Heraldry.
   LeClerc's design, ultimately accepted as the official flag, does not
   include the words "Medal of Honour" and is fringed in gold. The colour
   of the field and the 13 white stars, arranged in the form of a triple
   chevron, consisting of two chevrons of 5 stars and one chevron of 3
   stars, replicate the Medal of Honour' ribbon. The flag has no set
   proportions.

   The first Medal of Honour recipient to receive the official flag was
   Paul R. Smith. The flag was cased and presented to his family along
   with his Medal. A special ceremony presenting this flag to 60 Medal of
   Honour recipients was held onboard the USS Constitution on September
   30, 2006.

Awarding the medal

   There are two distinct means for awarding the Medal of Honour. 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 of Congress. In either
   case, the Medal of Honour is presented by the President on behalf of
   the Congress. Although commonplace, the term "Congressional Medal of
   Honour" is not correct. The Congressional Medal of Honour Society is so
   named because that is the name it was given in an act of Congress
   signed into law by President Eisenhower on August 5, 1958 as 36 U.S.C.
   § 33.

Evolution of criteria

   A year after President Abraham Lincoln signed Public Resolution 82 into
   law on December 21, 1861, a similar resolution for the Army was passed.
   Six Union soldiers who hijacked the General, a Confederate locomotive
   were the first recipients. Raid leader James J. Andrews, a civilian
   hanged as a Union spy, did not receive the medal because it was
   originally awarded 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
   that were recognized by the Medal of Honour. The criteria for award
   tightened after World War I. Since the start of World War II, only 852
   medals have been awarded, 526 of them posthumously. In the post-World
   War II era, many eligible recipients might instead have been awarded a
   Silver Star, Navy Cross or similar award. In all, 3461 Medals of Honour
   have been awarded.

   In an unfortunate incident, during the Civil War, Secretary of War
   Edwin M. Stanton promised a Medal of Honour 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 Honour to all 864 men in the
   regiment.

   In 1916, a board of five Army generals convened by law to review every
   Army Medal of Honour awarded. The commission, led by Nelson Miles,
   recommended that the Army rescind 911 medals. This included the 864
   medals awarded to members of the 27th Maine, 29 who served as Abraham
   Lincoln's funeral guard, six civilians (including Dr Mary Edwards
   Walker, the only woman to have been 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.
   Cody's award was restored in 1989.

   Early in the 20th century the Navy awarded many Medals of Honour for
   peacetime bravery. For instance, seven sailors aboard the USS Iowa
   received the medal when a boiler exploded on January 25, 1904. Aboard
   the USS Chicago in 1901, John Henry Helms received the medal for saving
   Ishi Tomizi, the ship's cook, from drowning. Even after World War I,
   Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett received the medal 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.
   Tiffany Cross
   Enlarge
   Tiffany Cross

   Between 1919 and 1942, the Navy issued two separate versions of the
   Medal of Honor, one for non-combat bravery and the other for
   combat-related acts. Official accounts vary, but presumably the combat
   Medal of Honour was known as the "Tiffany Cross", after the company
   that manufactured the medal. "The Tiffany" was first issued in 1919,
   but was rare and unpopular, partly because it was presented both for
   combat and noncombat events. As a result, in 1942 the United States
   Navy reverted to a single Medal of Honour, awarded only for heroism.

   Since the beginning of World War II, the medal has been awarded for
   extreme bravery beyond the call of duty while engaged in action against
   an enemy. Arising from these criteria, approximately 60% of the medals
   earned during and after World War II have been awarded posthumously.
   Capt. William McGonagle is an exception to the enemy action rule,
   earning his medal during the USS Liberty incident; which the Israeli
   government claimed was friendly fire.

Controversies

   A 1993 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 Honour 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 Honour. On January 13, 1997, President Bill
   Clinton awarded the medal to seven African American World War II
   veterans. Of these, only Vernon Baker was still alive. A similar study
   of Asian Americans in 1998 resulted in President Clinton awarding 21
   new Medals of Honour 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 Honour
   to Jewish veteran and Holocaust-camp survivor Tibor Rubin.

Authority and privileges

   The grave of a recipient at the Normandy Cemetery and Memorial
   Enlarge
   The grave of a recipient at the Normandy Cemetery and Memorial

   The U.S. Army Medal of Honour was first authorized by a joint
   resolution of Congress on July 12, 1862. The specific authorizing
   ordinance was U.S. Code, Title 10, Subtitle B, Part II, Chapter 357,
   Section 3741, effective January 26, 1998:

     The President may award, and present in the name of Congress, a
     medal of honour 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 Honour confers special privileges on its recipients, both
   by tradition and by law. By tradition, all other soldiers, sailors, and
   airmen—even higher-ranking officers up to the President of the United
   States—initiate the salute. In the event of an officer encountering an
   enlisted member of the military who has been awarded the Medal of
   Honour, officers by tradition salute not the person, but the medal
   itself, thus attempting to time their salute to coincide with the
   enlisted members'.) By law, awardees have several benefits:
     * Each Medal of Honor awardee may have his or her name entered on the
       Medal of Honour Roll (38 U.S.C.  § 1560). Each person whose name is
       placed on the Medal of Honour Roll is certified to the United
       States Department of Veterans Affairs as being entitled to receive
       the special pension of $1027 per month. As of December 1, 2004, the
       pension is subject to cost-of-living increases.
     * Enlisted recipients of the Medal of Honour 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 Honour 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 receive a 10% 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
       Honour recipients receive the flag along with all future
       recipients.(14 U.S.C.  § 505).
     * As with all medals, retired personnel may wear the Medal of Honor
       on "appropriate" civilian clothing. Regulations also specify that
       recipients of the Medal of Honour 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.

Legal protection

   The Medal of Honor is the only service decoration that is singled out
   in federal law to protect it from being imitated or privately sold. All
   Medals of Honour 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
   (18 U.S.C.  § 704)(b), which prescribes a harsher penalty than that for
   violations concerning other medals. 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 Honour without proper authority.
   Violators of this law have been prosecuted. In 2003 Edward and Gisela
   Fedora were charged with violating (18 U.S.C.  § 704)(b) - Unlawful
   Sale of a Medal of Honour. They sold medals awarded to U.S. Navy Seaman
   Robert Blume (for action during the Spanish-American War) and to U.S.
   Army First Sergeant George Washington Roosevelt (for action during the
   Civil War) to an FBI agent. Edward Fedora, a Canadian businessman, pled
   guilty and was sentenced to prison; Gisela Fedora's status is unknown.

   Under United States Code, (18 U.S.C.  § 704)(b), it is illegal to wear
   the Medal of Honor without authorization, but one can still legally
   claim to be a recipient unless such a claim is made with the intent of
   securing veteran benefits. A number of veterans' organizations and
   private companies devote themselves to exposing those who falsely claim
   to have won the Medal of Honour. Imposters are said to outnumber true
   Medal of Honor recipients. HLI Lordship Industries Inc., a former Medal
   of Honour contractor, was fined in 1996 for selling 300 fake Medals for
   $75 each.

Recipients

   A statue in Louisville, Kentucky honors MOH recipients from Kentucky.
   Enlarge
   A statue in Louisville, Kentucky honours MOH recipients from Kentucky.

   In total, 3,461 medals have been awarded to 3,442 different people.
   Nineteen men received a second award: 14 of these received two separate
   Medals for two separate actions, and five received both the Navy and
   the Army Medals of Honor for the same action. Since the beginning of
   World War II, 852 Medals of Honour have been awarded, 526 posthumously.
   In total, 615 had their Medals presented posthumously. The last award
   was on November 10th, 2006.

   The Army Medal of Honour was first awarded to Private Jacob Parrott
   during the American Civil War for his role in the Andrews Raid; the
   most recent award was made on November 10, 2006 to U.S. Marine Corps
   Corporal Jason L. Dunham, for actions that occurred on April 14, 2004,
   in Iraq near the Syrian border. The only female Medal of Honour 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.

   While current regulations, (10 U.S.C.  § 6241), beginning in 1918,
   explicitly state that recipients must be serving in the U.S. Armed
   Forces at the time of performing a valorous act that warrants the award
   of the Medal of Honour, exceptions have been made. For example, Mary
   Walker worked as a military contractor, and Charles Lindbergh, while a
   reserve member of the U.S. Army Air Corps, received his Medal of Honor
   as a civilian pilot. In addition, the Medal of Honour was presented to
   the British Unknown Warrior by General Pershing on October 17, 1921;
   later the U.S. Unknown Soldier was reciprocally awarded the Victoria
   Cross, Britain's highest award for gallantry, on November 11, 1921.
   Apart from these few exceptions, Medals of Honour can only be awarded
   to members of the U.S. armed forces - although being a U.S. citizen is
   not a prerequisite. Sixty-one Canadians who were serving in the United
   States armed forces have been awarded the Medal of Honour, with a
   majority awarded for actions in the American Civil War. Since 1900,
   only four have been awarded to Canadians. In the Vietnam War, Peter C.
   Lemon was the only Canadian recipient of the Medal of Honour.

   Since the withdrawal of US forces from Vietnam in 1973, the Medal of
   Honour has only been awarded four times, all of them posthumously. The
   first two were earned by Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart and Master
   Sergeant Gary Gordon, who were defending downed Black Hawk helicopter
   pilot Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant and his crew during the
   Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. The others were given during the Iraq War.
   In 2005, a posthumous MOH was awarded to the survivors of Sergeant
   First Class Paul R. Smith for actions in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In
   April 2003, Smith killed over 50 Iraqis near Baghdad International
   Airport, while providing cover for an aid station full of wounded
   Americans to evacuate. On November 10, 2006, President George W. Bush
   announced that Marine Corporal Jason Dunham of Scio, New York, would be
   awarded the Medal of Honour posthumously for his bravery in Iraq during
   a combat mission for throwing himself on a grenade during an action
   near the Syrian border in April 2004.

   CAPTION: By conflict

   Civil War         1,522 Indian Wars                   426
   Korean Expedition    15 Spanish-American War          110
   Samoan Civil War      4 Philippine-American War        86
   Boxer Rebellion      59 Mexican Expedition             56
   Haiti (1915-1934)     8 Dominican Republic Occupation   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              2
   Peacetime           193 Unknown or classified           9

   CAPTION: By branch of service

     Service   Awards
   Army          2401
   Navy           745
   Marines        297
   Air Force       17
   Coast Guard      1

Similar decorations

   United States

   The following United States decorations bear similar names to the Medal
   of Honour, but are separate awards with different criteria for
   issuance.
     * Cardenas Medal of Honour: decoration of the Revenue Cutter Service,
       merged into the United States Coast Guard
     * Chaplain's Medal of Honour: awarded posthumously for a single
       action to four recipients
     * Congressional Gold Medal of Honour
     * Congressional Space Medal of Honour: despite its name, not equal to
       the Medal of Honour
     * Presidential Medal of Freedom

   Several United States law enforcement decorations also bear the name
   "Medal of Honour". The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor,
   established by Congress in 2001, "the highest national award for valor
   by a public safety officer", is also awarded by the President, as is
   the highest civilian honour of all, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

   Foreign awards

   The following countries have high military awards similar to the Medal
   of Honour:
     * Finland: Mannerheim Cross
     * France: Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honour)
     * Israel: Medal of Valor
     * Sri Lanka: Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
     * Pakistan: Nishan-e-Haider
     * Malaysia: Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa (S.P.)
     * The Netherlands: Order of William
     * Poland: Virtuti Militari
     * Russian Federation: Hero of the Russian Federation
     * Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Commonwealth:
       Victoria Cross
     * India: Param Vir Chakra
     * Argentina: The Argentine Nation Cross to the Heroic Valor in Combat
       (Cruz La Nación Argentina al Heroico Valor en Combate)

   The following obsolete military decorations were the highest in their
   country at the time:
     * Pour le Mérite (Prussia)
     * Vietnam Military Merit Medal (South Vietnam)
     * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Nazi Germany)
     * Hero of the Soviet Union (Soviet Union)

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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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