15 minute read
The Medal of Honor
THE MEDAL
Advertisement
MEDAL OF HONOR
A TIMELESS SYMBOL OF HEROISM
- The inscription on the Georgia monument at Gettysburg National Military Park
The Medal of Honor is the United States’ highest award for valor in combat. Fewer than 3,600 of the over 41 million men and women who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States have been entrusted to wear the Medal for actions above and beyond the call of duty – honoring their fellow warriors who have “given their last full measure of devotion” to the nation.
It embodies the sacrifices of all our Service Members, the history of our Armed Forces, and the values that have shaped the nation over the centuries: courage, commitment, integrity, sacrifice, citizenship, and patriotism.
When the American Revolution began in 1776, the newly formed American forces wanted to distance themselves from the privileged aristocracy of Europe. As a nation founded on the value of the common man, medals felt too much like the trappings of British and European monarchs and nobility, so despite the many acts of valor exhibited during the War, there were no medals distributed to officers or enlisted men by the Continental Congress.
THE U.S. CIVIL WAR AND THE FIRST MEDALS
It would be our young nation’s greatest challenge – the Civil War -- that caused Congress to reevaluate its stance on military honors. Humiliating Union defeats early in the Civil War proved that the Confederacy would not be defeated quickly, and desertion was running high. The military needed a way to maintain morale and make an example of those who performed their duties heroically. On December 21st, 1861, Congress approved the legislation, and the Navy Medal of Honor was authorized with the Army Medal of Honor authorized with similar legislation and signed into law in July 1862.
The first Medals of Honor were presented to members of the Andrews Raiders -- Union army soldiers who commandeered a train and used it to destroy Confederate telegraph lines, bridges and railroad tracks, the lifelines of Southern infrastructure and communication systems. The Raiders were captured and placed in prison camps. Eight were tried and executed as spies, but six others were released as part of a prisoner exchange. In March of 1863, those six would be presented with the first Medals of Honor for their acts of courage and commitment to the Union cause in the face of fierce Confederate opposition.
Despite undergoing several redesigns since its creation, the symbolism on the Medal itself has always taken cues from the purpose -- strength and bravery of the individuals who wear it. The initial designs depicted Minerva, the Roman Goddess of wisdom and war representing the United States. She was shown fighting Discord, the embodiment of the nation’s enemies. Laurel and oak leaves, symbols of victory and strength, fill in the branches of a five-pointed star. Thirty-four stars, representing the 34 states at the time of the Civil War, surround the central figures.
CHANGES TO THE MEDAL DESIGN
The Army was the first to alter its design. The ribbon at first resembled the flag with a rectangle of blue above red and white vertical stripes. In 1896, to avoid confusion with the Grand Army of the Republic Medal design, the Army ribbon was changed to red, white and blue vertical stripes. In 1904, the ribbon changed again to a simple light blue with 13 white stars, representing the original colonies, and the central figures on the Medal were changed to a profile of Minerva’s head surrounded by a green wreath of laurel gleaves. The Navy adopted the same ribbon in 1913.
A few years later, the Navy created a second design of its Medal to distinguish between those who had received it for combat actions versus non-combat actions. Because Naval ships presented dangers and opportunities for valor beyond enemy engagement, many sailors had received the Medal for actions involving fires or sinking vessels. To highlight those who had received the Medal for combat, the Navy introduced a crossshaped Medal designed by Tiffany and Company for non-combat actions. The Tiffany Cross was almost immediately distributed incorrectly. The Navy discontinued non-combat awards in 1942 and returned to using only the familiar star-shaped design.
The U.S. Air Force introduced its design in 1965, even though it had become its own branch in 1947. Prior to 1965, the Air Force continued to award the Army Medal. When the new design was launched, it kept the laurel and oak leaves of the Army Medal but replaced Minerva with a portrait of Lady Liberty.
CHANGES TO MEDAL POLICY
The Medal of Honor remained the only federally approved Medal for the U.S. Armed Forces until 1918. Thus, its significance grew throughout the 19th century and the nominations process and criteria fell under heightened scrutiny. During the last half of the 19th and through the 20th centuries, the Medal of Honor’s requirements were refined and cemented by Congress and the military. The first change to Medal of Honor policy was the eligibility of Army officers for the award (Navy officers would not become eligible until 1915). The next big change wasn’t until 1897, when the War Department took the lessons of the past 34 years and issued a policy that laid out specific rules for the nominations process. From then on, recommendations required evidence, including eyewitness statements, and had to be made by someone other than the nominated individual. If the action took place after 1890, the War Department required that an individual’s commanding officer or an officer with knowledge of the act submit the application.
The 1897 policy also first expounded the concept of “gallantry” and how it applied to the Medal of Honor: the valorous act “must have been performed in action of such a conspicuous character as to clearly distinguish the man for gallantry and intrepidity above his comrades.” In short, not every act of gallantry warranted the Medal of Honor; only acts that went above and beyond would be considered.
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt issued an executive order establishing that the Medal of Honor must be presented "with formal and impressive ceremonial … by the President, …, or by such representative as the President may designate." Previously, the Medal could be handed out in the field or simply mailed through the U.S. Postal Service. In the case of a posthumous g
award, where a service member has given their life, the Medal is presented to the family members as an indelible symbol of their ultimate sacrifice.
Other incremental changes were introduced as the years crept by, including time limits for a nomination, but the next big change came at the start of WWI. In 1916-1917, at the behest of Congress, the Army created a special review board to investigate all awarded Medals of Honor, from the Civil War to the present. Each award was given a number so the board would not be influenced by names, and each case was scrutinized for the circumstances of the valor and the recommendation. In the end, they struck down 911 awards, removing the Recipients from the official roll of the Medal of Honor, including Dr. Mary Edwards Walker and Buffalo Bill Cody. Eventually, six would be reinstated, including Walker and Cody, but only after significant lobbying by supporters. To this day, Dr. Walker is the only female Recipient of the Medal of Honor.
The next year, in 1918, Congress passed legislation creating other military awards for valor. These included the Distinguished Service Cross and Navy Cross. The Medal of Honor remained at the pinnacle of U.S. military awards, but the other Medals would serve to recognize valorous acts that didn’t reach the level of the Medal of Honor. The ability to distinguish between acts of valor and recognize them appropriately contributes to fewer Medal of Honor awards, but more awards overall, and permits the American military to show respect for all acts of that significantly contribute to American military success. The legislation also solidified time limits for the nomination and presentation process. By restricting the time frame for examining cases, Congress helped ensure all evidence was collected and process efficiently. In 2014, those time limits were modified again. Now all recommendations must be made within three years of the action and if approved, the Medal must be presented within five years.
Prior to World War II, Medals of Honor were awarded for peacetime valor and not just for combat. Examples include Charles Lindbergh for his solo flight across the Atlantic and Adolphus Greeley for his arctic exploration. In addition, several Medals have been awarded under special Congressional legislations, including the Unknown Soldiers of World Wars I and II and the Korean War, and the World War I Unknown Soldiers of Belgium, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Romania. The Unknown Soldier of the Vietnam War presented a special case that demonstrated the importance of ongoing criteria views.
MEDAL OF HONOR RECOMMENDATIONS AND CRITERIA
Today, each Medal of Honor recommendation undergoes a scrupulous examination and documentation process, requiring after-action reports, eyewitness statements, and many levels of review to ensure each award is held to the highest standards. Time limits ensure evidence is obtained in a timely manner and that valorous actions are quickly recognized. g
It’s the simple things like feeling a tranquil coastal breeze brush over you, reconnecting with the natural wonders that surround you, or setting sail on the shining blue waters of the Gulf. Find adventure, relaxation, and camaraderie on the beautifully grand, sugar-white sand beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.
GulfShores.com OrangeBeach.com 877-341-2400
Just as the qualifications for the Medal were reviewed to make sure it represented the best of the best -- those who displayed the highest valor in the most extraordinary circumstances -- there were times that it was the Nation’s attitude towards its service members that needed to be revised. Beginning in the 1990’s, there was a greater push to review the efforts of service members who may have been overlooked due to the color of their skin...or their religious beliefs. In giving the actions of these veterans a second look, the Medal of Honor could continue to uphold the American ideal that all its citizens were created equal. In these cases, Congress can pass legislation to reopen the window for submission and examination.
Throughout our history since the Civil War, the Medal has been presented to service members from the trenches of World War I….to front lines of World War II...from Korea...to the jungles of Vietnam...and the deserts of the Middle East.
A NEW FOCUS ON AIR POWER
While the history of the Medal was focused on land and sea operations, over time, military air power became a force to be reckoned with. The trend that had started during the Civil War, when observation balloons (basically a rudimentary hot air balloon) were used to identify enemy lines; by WWI, planes were being used for reconnaissance and defensive and offensive maneuvers. World War II saw the introduction of air power as a force that could change the course of an entire battle. Large bombers flew through the sky, armed to the teeth with payloads that could decimate cities and ships. Dogfights between pilots became more common.
WORLD WAR II AND KOREAN WAR
In 1942, Edward “Butch” O’Hare received the Medal of Honor for protecting the aircraft carrier USS Lexington, single-handedly taking down five heavy bombers and severely crippling a sixth while he himself was low on ammunition and under fire. During the Korean War, Thomas Hudner crash-landed his fighter on the side of a mountain in 1950, to aid a downed pilot, and received the Medal for his actions. Over Vietnam in 1969, despite significant injuries to his back, John L. Levitow hugged a burning flare in the belly of a bomber and dragged it to an open hatch, thereby saving his fellow crew members. He also received the Medal of Honor.
The ground war in WWII was just as vicious as the skies. The Medal was presented to 473 servicemembers in total, 58 percent posthumous awards. Howard Gilmore was the commander of a submarine in 1943 in the South Pacific. He was noted for his skill in maneuvering the ship and facing the enemy. When the submarine was attacked by a gunboat on February 7, he calmly ordered the sub to ram the gunboat, damaging it. As the enemy’s guns continued firing, he remained above deck while his men filtered below and prepared to dive. Severely wounded and unable to move, Gilmore ordered the ship to dive, leaving g
The only Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Medal was Douglas Munro, who used his own landing boat to block enemy fire while other boats retrieved Marines cornered on the island of Guadalcanal. Mortally wounded by enemy fire, his last words were, “Did our boys get off?”
Joe Hayashi was a Private at the tail end of WWII. His unit was facing heavy resistance in taking Tendola, Italy, when he led the charge against an enemy stronghold outside the town. Through his tenacity and daring, he cleared the hill with his squad. Two days later, while attacking the enemy on the terraces outside of town, Hayashi personally removed three enemy machine nests from commission. He fell on the battlefield after clearing that last nest. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2000.
VIETNAM WAR
Two hundred and sixty-seven Medals of Honor were presented for valor in the Vietnam War. The first went to Roger H. C. Donlon, an Army special forces officer, who, in 1964, preformed valiantly for hours to motivate the men under his command to rebuff a heavy enemy onslaught to their camp. His contributions to the physical defense of the camp and attention to the wounded while under heavy fire inspired his men to continue an intense defense. His Medal was also the first presented under expanded Medal of Honor criteria that allowed military advisors embedded with allies to receive the Medal.
Lawrence Joel was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions as an Army medical aidman in 1965 in Vietnam. He withstood his own painful wounds during a 24-hour battle while treating others while under intense fire. In 1969, Ralph Dias noticed that an enemy machine-gun bunker was inflicting heavy casualties on his fellow Marines. He chose to expose himself to the enemy multiple times to eliminate the bunker. Due to his wounds, he eventually couldn’t walk, so he crawled in the open to throw one last grenade, which destroyed the bunker, but left him open for one last fatal enemy round. His Medal of Honor was presented to his family in 1974.
Few Medals of Honor were awarded between the end of the Vietnam War era and the start of the War on Terrorism. In fact, the only ones presented for contemporaneous action during that period were for Operation Restore Hope in Somalia in 1992-1993. Gary I. Gordon and Randall D. Shughart volunteered to protect the injured crew of a downed helicopter in Mogadishu in 1993. They fought until they had either exhausted their ammunition or were fatally wounded. Although the lone survivor of that battle was taken prisoner, Gordon and Shughart’s actions in defense of their brothers-in-arms were certainly worthy of the Medal of Honor. Except for those two awards, the others from 1980-2000 were mostly retrospective and the result of reviews of valor nominations that had either been overlooked or downgraded to other awards. These late awardees included Roy Benavidez, whose Distinguished Service Cross was upgraded in 1981, and Ruben Rivers, whose heroic actions had been overlooked due to discrimination. Rivers’ award was part of a comprehensive review of all valor awards to African Americans who served in WWI and WWII. Seven awards were upgraded in 1996. A separate review of Asian-American and Native American Pacific Islander valor Honorees upgraded 22 awards in 2000. Since 2000, six other similar, comprehensive reviews have taken place or are in progress, all intended to ensure valor by all American military members is properly recognized.
THE WAR ON TERRORISM
The War on Terrorism, focusing on Iraq and Afghanistan, became a battleground of heroic actions, like Jason Dunham the conflicts which preceded it. To date, 28 soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen have been awarded the Medal of Honor in those fields of operation. Among them is Jason Dunham, a Marine who threw himself on a grenade to save his comrades, and Alwyn Cashe, a soldier who repeated entered a burning armored vehicle while under enemy fire to pull out the men under his command. Both were fatally wounded and died under medical care. Both gave their lives to protect others. Other tales of heroism may yet be revealed as valor award reviews are underway for the conflicts in the Middle East.
Living Medal of Honor Recipients often say that they hope there will never need for future conflict, and therefore no future Medal of Honor Recipients. However, American troops stand ready to heed the call and make the sacrifices needed to protect our great nation. The Medal of Honor is a timeless symbol of that sacrifice and service, a tangible representation of heroism. By remembering and honoring the sacrifices of its Recipients, by sharing the stories and values inherent in them, we understand the responsibility and potential within each one of us to inspire the world.
Recipients of the Medal of Honor are committed to preserving the Medal’s legacy: the selfless actions of those who defended America and her citizens. Though initially shunned by the Founding Fathers, the Medal embodies the spirit of the Revolution - that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. For those Recipients of the Medal, it is a recognition from our Nation that we honor their extraordinary heroism and risk of life for us on the battlefield. And for the average citizen, it is a reminder of the courage, commitment, integrity, sacrifice, citizenship, and patriotism that has gone into protecting and providing for our Nation and our freedom.
