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Foreword by Gary Sinise
FOREWORD BY GARYSINISE
Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients possess many assets, such as gallantry, intrepidity, and selflessness. One seldom-mentioned trait that I have observed in my many conversations with them is humility, which they share in abundance. Each Recipient with whom I’ve spoken over these many years, talks about the comrades who gave their lives, rather than their own remarkable acts of heroism in placing themselves in harm’s way to save lives. Individually they enjoy walking down a street without being identified as Medal of Honor Recipients. That is the humility that lets these remarkable men stand out in a crowd without being seen. They prefer to let their deeds of courage stand by themselves without a great deal of fanfare and each will tell you they wear their Medals not for themselves but for those who did not come home who gave their last full measure.
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It is with that same sense of humility that I introduce this tribute to the 3,515 Recipients who have earned the coveted Medal of Honor in the 160 years since its inception. I applaud and honor their efforts to inspire others to act with the same courage, commitment, integrity, sacrifice, citizenship, and patriotism that they exhibited in earning their Medals. Their example motivates me to continue my own work at Gary Sinise Foundation, and to do whatever I can to help highlight the selfless achievements of the extraordinary Americans who are members of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
Our 30th President Calvin Coolidge once said, “The nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten”. We will never forget these true heroes.
They inspire us all and neither I nor society can ever thank them enough.
