What Branch Of Service Created The Original Medal

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Military History and State of war

Medal of Accolade
From left to right, the Army, Navy and Air Force medals
Awarded by the Usa 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 activity against an enemy of the United States..."
Status	Currently awarded
Statistics
Commencement awarded	American Civil War
Last awarded	2006- 11-ten
Total awarded	3,461
Posthumous awards	615
Distinct recipients	iii,442
Precedence
Next highest	None
Next lowest	Army - Distinguished Service Cross Navy - Navy Cross Air Strength - Air Force Cross

The Medal of Honour is the highest war machine decoration awarded by the United States. It is often colloquially referred to every bit the Congressional Medal of Honour because the President presents the award "in the proper noun of the Congress". Information technology is bestowed on a member of the U.s.a. armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself "... clearly by gallantry and intrepidity at the gamble of his life higher up and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action confronting an enemy of the Usa ..."

Members of all branches of the U.S. armed forces 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'southward version has never been awarded). The Medal of Honor is ofttimes presented personally to the recipient or, in the case of posthumous awards, to survivors, past the President of the United States. Due to its high status, the medal has special protection nether U.S. law.

The Medal of Honour is 1 of only two American military awards worn around the neck; the other is the Commander'south Caste of the Legion of Merit. Whereas the Medal of Award is a military award for valor — deportment taken during combat operations at gamble of one's own life that are above and beyond the telephone call of duty — the Legion of Merit is a merit award. The Commander's Caste of the Legion of Merit is likewise not awarded to Usa armed forces personnel just to foreign dignitaries.

Origin

The commencement formal arrangement for rewarding acts of individual gallantry past 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 Bluecoat of Military Merit fell into disuse after the American Revolutionary War, the concept of a military accolade for individual gallantry by members of the U.S. armed forces had been established. In 1847, later on the outbreak of the Mexican-American War, a Certificate of Merit was established for soldiers who distinguished themselves in activeness. The certificate was afterward granted medal condition equally the Certificate of Merit Medal.

Early in the Civil State of war, a medal for individual valor was proposed (by James W. Grimes) to Winfield Scott, the Commanding Full general of the Us Army. Scott did non approve the proposal, merely 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 past President Abraham Lincoln on December 21, 1861. The medal was "to exist 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 ornamentation. Soon later, a resolution of like wording was introduced on behalf of the Ground forces, which was signed into police on July 12, 1862. This measure out provided for awarding a Medal of Honour, which the Navy version also came to be chosen: "to such noncommissioned officers and privates every bit shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in activity, and other soldier-like qualities, during the nowadays insurrection."

Appearance

Early on Army versions of the Medal of Honour.

Early Navy versions of the Medal of Honour.

The Medal of Honour has evolved in appearance since its creation in 1862. The nowadays Army medal consists of a aureate star surrounded by a wreath, topped by an eagle on a bar inscribed with the word "Valor." The medal is attached past a hook to a light blue moired silk collar that is 1 3⁄16 inches in width and 21¾ inches in length.

There is a version of the medal for each co-operative of the U.South. armed forces: the Ground forces, Navy and Air Strength. Since the U.Southward. Marine Corps is administratively a part of the Department of the Navy, Marines receive the Navy medal. Before 1965, when the U.South. 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 Accolade, which was distinguished from the Navy medal in 1963, has never been awarded, partly because the U.Southward. Coast Guard is subsumed into the U.S. Navy in time of declared state of war. No design yet exists for it. Merely one member of the Coast Baby-sit has ever received a Medal of Accolade, 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 (nineteen thus far) where a service member has been awarded more than one Medal of Laurels, regulations specify that an appropriate honor device be centered on the MOH ribbon and neck medal. To indicate multiple presentations of the Medal of Honor the U.S. Ground forces and Air Force bestow oak leaf clusters, while the Navy Medal of Honour is worn with golden laurels stars.

Medal of Honour ribbon.

On a ribbon bar, the Medal of Honor ribbon is in a special position; it is worn on a unmarried bar alone, centered one/4 inch to a higher place the eye of the upper row of other ribbons. The ribbon is the same shade of lite blue as the collar, and it includes 5 white stars, pointed upwards, in the shape of an "Grand." For noncombatant wear, a rosette is issued instead of a miniature lapel pin (which ordinarily 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 fourth dimension equally the Medal.

Flag

Medal of Honour Flag

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

The flag was based on a concept by retired Regular army Special Forces 1st Sgt. Bill Kendall of Jefferson, Iowa, who designed a flag to honor Medal of Laurels recipient Helm Darrell Lindsey, a B-26 pilot killed in World War Two who was also from Jefferson. Kendall's blueprint of a light blueish 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 accustomed every bit the official flag, does not include the words "Medal of Honour" and is fringed in aureate. The colour of the field and the xiii white stars, arranged in the class of a triple chevron, consisting of 2 chevrons of 5 stars and 1 chevron of three 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 2 distinct ways for awarding the Medal of Accolade. The first and most common is nomination past a service fellow member in the chain of command, followed by blessing 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 example, the Medal of Honor 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 Social club is so named because that is the proper noun information technology was given in an act of Congress signed into police by President Eisenhower on August 5, 1958 as 36 U.S.C. § 33.

Evolution of criteria

A yr after President Abraham Lincoln signed Public Resolution 82 into law on December 21, 1861, a similar resolution for the Army was passed. 6 Union soldiers who hijacked the General, a Confederate locomotive were the first recipients. Raid leader James J. Andrews, a civilian hanged as a Wedlock spy, did non receive the medal because it was originally awarded only to enlisted men. Ground forces officers first received them in 1891 and Naval officers in 1915. Many Medals of Honour awarded in the 19th century were associated with saving the flag, not just for patriotic reasons, but considering the flag was a principal means of battlefield communication. During the Civil War, no other military laurels was authorized, which explains some of the less notable actions that were recognized by the Medal of Accolade. The criteria for accolade tightened after World War I. Since the offset of World State of war Two, simply 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 Silvery Star, Navy Cantankerous or like accolade. In all, 3461 Medals of Laurels have been awarded.

In an unfortunate incident, during the Ceremonious State of war, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton promised a Medal of Honour to every human being in the 27th Regiment, Maine Infantry who extended his enlistment beyond the agreed upon appointment. Many stayed four days extra, and so were discharged. Due to defoliation, Stanton awarded a Medal of Laurels 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 past Nelson Miles, recommended that the Army rescind 911 medals. This included the 864 medals awarded to members of the 27th Maine, 29 who served every bit Abraham Lincoln's funeral baby-sit, 6 civilians (including Dr Mary Edwards Walker, the only woman to take been awarded the medal, and Buffalo Bill Cody), and 12 others whose awards were judged frivolous. Dr Walker'southward 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 Jan 25, 1904. Aboard the USS Chicago in 1901, John Henry Helms received the medal for saving Ishi Tomizi, the ship'southward cook, from drowning. Even afterward World War I, Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett received the medal for exploration of the Due north Pole. Thomas John Ryan received information technology for saving a woman from the burning Thousand Hotel in Yokohama, Japan following the 1923 Bully Kantō earthquake.

Tiffany Cantankerous

Between 1919 and 1942, the Navy issued two divide versions of the Medal of Honor, one for not-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. Equally a result, in 1942 the United States Navy reverted to a single Medal of Honour, awarded simply for heroism.

Since the beginning of World War II, the medal has been awarded for farthermost 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 afterwards World War II have been awarded posthumously. Capt. William McGonagle is an exception to the enemy activeness dominion, earning his medal during the USS Freedom incident; which the Israeli regime claimed was friendly fire.

Controversies

A 1993 report commissioned by the Army described systematic racial bigotry in the criteria for awarding medals during World State of war II. At the time, no Medals of Honor had been awarded to blackness soldiers who served in World War II. Afterward an exhaustive review of files, the study recommended that several black Distinguished Service Cross recipients be upgraded to the Medal of Award. On Jan thirteen, 1997, President Bill Clinton awarded the medal to seven African American Earth War II veterans. Of these, only Vernon Bakery 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 Gainsay Team (ane of whom was Senator Daniel Inouye). In 2005, President George W. Bush-league 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

The U.Due south. Regular army Medal of Award was start authorized by a articulation resolution of Congress on July 12, 1862. The specific authorizing ordinance was U.S. Lawmaking, Title 10, Subtitle B, Part Ii, Chapter 357, Section 3741, effective Jan 26, 1998:

The President may honour, and present in the name of Congress, a medal of honour of appropriate blueprint, with ribbons and appurtenances, to a person who while a member of the Army, distinguished himself conspicuously past gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.

Afterward 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 police force. 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 consequence of an officer encountering an enlisted member of the armed forces who has been awarded the Medal of Honour, officers by tradition salute non the person, but the medal itself, thus attempting to time their salute to coincide with the enlisted members'.) By police force, awardees take several benefits:

Each Medal of Honor awardee may take his or her proper name entered on the Medal of Honour Whorl (38 U.Southward.C. § 1560). Each person whose proper name is placed on the Medal of Laurels Coil is certified to the United states of america Department of Veterans Affairs every bit beingness entitled to receive the special alimony of $1027 per month. Every bit of December i, 2004, the pension is discipline 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 nether the provisions of DOD Regulation 4515.13-R.
Special identification cards and commissary and exchange privileges are provided for Medal of Award recipients and their eligible dependents.
Children of recipients are eligible for admission to the Usa military academies without regard to the quota requirements.
Recipients receive a 10% increase in retired pay under ten U.s.C. § 3991, subject to the 75% limit on total retired pay.
Those awarded the Medal afterwards Oct 23, 2002 besides receive a Medal of Award Flag. The police force also specifies that all 143 living Medal of Laurels recipients receive the flag along with all future recipients.(14 U.South.C. § 505).
As with all medals, retired personnel may wear the Medal of Honor on "appropriate" civilian wearable. Regulations besides specify that recipients of the Medal of Honour are immune to wear the uniform "at their pleasure" with standard restrictions on political, commercial, or extremist purposes; other sometime members of the armed forces may do then only at certain ceremonial occasions.

Legal protection

The Medal of Honor is the only service decoration that is singled out in federal police force to protect it from being imitated or privately sold. All Medals of Honour are issued in the original only, by the Section of Defense, to a recipient. Misuse of the medal, including unauthorized manufacture or wear, is punishable by fine and imprisonment pursuant to (eighteen U.s.C. § 704)(b), which prescribes a harsher penalty than that for violations apropos other medals. After the Regular army redesigned their medal in 1903, a patent was issued (United States Patent #D37,236) to legally preclude others from making the medal. When the patent expired, the Federal authorities enacted a law making it illegal to produce, wear, or distribute the Medal of Honour without proper authority. Violators of this law accept been prosecuted. In 2003 Edward and Gisela Fedora were charged with violating (18 U.Due south.C. § 704)(b) - Unlawful Sale of a Medal of Honour. They sold medals awarded to U.S. Navy Seaman Robert Blume (for activity during the Castilian-American State of war) and to U.South. Army Beginning Sergeant George Washington Roosevelt (for action during the Civil War) to an FBI amanuensis. Edward Fedora, a Canadian businessman, pled guilty and was sentenced to prison; Gisela Fedora's condition is unknown.

Under Usa Code, (18 U.S.C. § 704)(b), information technology is illegal to wear the Medal of Honor without dominance, just 1 can still legally merits to be a recipient unless such a claim is fabricated with the intent of securing veteran benefits. A number of veterans' organizations and private companies devote themselves to exposing those who falsely merits to have won the Medal of Honour. Imposters are said to outnumber true Medal of Honor recipients. HLI Lordship Industries Inc., a erstwhile Medal of Award contractor, was fined in 1996 for selling 300 imitation Medals for $75 each.

Recipients

In total, iii,461 medals take been awarded to three,442 dissimilar people. 19 men received a second award: 14 of these received 2 separate Medals for 2 carve up actions, and five received both the Navy and the Army Medals of Award for the same action. Since the outset of World War II, 852 Medals of Honour have been awarded, 526 posthumously. In total, 615 had their Medals presented posthumously. The final award was on November 10th, 2006.

The Army Medal of Honor was first awarded to Private Jacob Parrott during the American Civil War for his function in the Andrews Raid; the most contempo award was made on November 10, 2006 to U.S. Marine Corps Corporal Jason 50. Dunham, for deportment that occurred on April 14, 2004, in Republic of iraq virtually the Syrian border. The only female Medal of Honour awardee was Mary Edwards Walker, a Ceremonious War surgeon. Her medal was rescinded in 1917 forth 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. Military machine at the time of performing a valorous human activity that warrants the award of the Medal of Honour, exceptions take 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 every bit a noncombatant pilot. In add-on, the Medal of Honour was presented to the British Unknown Warrior by General Pershing on October 17, 1921; later on the U.S. Unknown Soldier was reciprocally awarded the Victoria Cross, United kingdom's highest honor for gallantry, on Nov xi, 1921. Apart from these few exceptions, Medals of Award tin only be awarded to members of the U.S. armed forces - although being a U.Southward. citizen is non 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 deportment in the American Civil War. Since 1900, only iv have been awarded to Canadians. In the Vietnam War, Peter C. Lemon was the only Canadian recipient of the Medal of Accolade.

Since the withdrawal of US forces from Vietnam in 1973, the Medal of Honor has only been awarded four times, all of them posthumously. The first two were earned by Sergeant First Course Randy Shughart and Chief Sergeant Gary Gordon, who were defending downed Blackness Hawk helicopter airplane pilot Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant and his coiffure during the Boxing of Mogadishu in 1993. The others were given during the Iraq War. In 2005, a posthumous MOH was awarded to the survivors of Sergeant Commencement Class Paul R. Smith for actions in Operation Iraqi Liberty. In April 2003, Smith killed over 50 Iraqis near Baghdad International Airdrome, while providing cover for an aid station full of wounded Americans to evacuate. On November ten, 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 about the Syrian border in Apr 2004.

**By conflict**
Civil War	one,522	Indian Wars	426
Korean Trek	15	Spanish-American State of war	110
Samoan Civil War	4	Philippine-American War	86
Boxer Rebellion	59	Mexican Expedition	56
Republic of haiti (1915-1934)	8	Dominican Republic Occupation	iii
Globe War I	124	Occupation of Nicaragua	2
World War II	464	Korean War	131
Vietnam War	245	Battle of Mogadishu	2
Iraq State of war	two
Peacetime	193	Unknown or classified	9

**Past co-operative of service**
Service	Awards
Army	2401
Navy	745
Marines	297
Air Force	17
Coast Baby-sit	one

Similar decorations

United States

The following United States decorations bear similar names to the Medal of Honour, but are carve up awards with different criteria for issuance.

Cardenas Medal of Honour: ornamentation of the Revenue Cutter Service, merged into the United States Coast Baby-sit
Chaplain'due south Medal of Honor: awarded posthumously for a single action to four recipients
Congressional Gilt Medal of Honour
Congressional Space Medal of Laurels: despite its proper noun, not equal to the Medal of Laurels
Presidential Medal of Freedom

Several U.s. police force enforcement decorations also bear the name "Medal of Honour". The Public Rubber Officer Medal of Valor, established by Congress in 2001, "the highest national award for valor by a public safety officer", is also awarded past the President, every bit is the highest civilian accolade 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 Accolade)
State of israel: Medal of Valor
Sri Lanka: Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
Pakistan: Nishan-due east-Haider
Malaysia: Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa (S.P.)
The Netherlands: Lodge of William
Poland: Virtuti Militari
Russian Federation: Hero of the Russia
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland and Commonwealth: Victoria Cross
India: Param Vir Chakra
Argentine republic: The Argentine Nation Cross to the Heroic Valor in Combat (Cruz La Nación Argentina al Heroico Valor en Combate)