The Medal Of Honor

On this day in 1862 - The U.S. Army Medal of Honor was first authorized by the U.S. Congress.

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States. It is bestowed “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 American Civil War, the medal has been awarded 3,460 times, most recently in 2005. All branches of the U.S. 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 acts as commander-in-chief on behalf of the American people. The Medal of Honor is one of only two U.S. military decorations that are presented as neck orders. The other is the commander’s degree of the Legion of Merit.

4 Comments

1. Here I thought that the “Medal of Honor” was award by our country as a whole - not by an individual “branch” of United States service - should be ALL at once and the SAME no matter what branch of service the individual was in at the time of the awarded actions. The value seems to go down a notch and it shouldn’t - seems it would be more important awarded directly from the “Department of Defense?!” not with the divisions indicated. (Things that won’t bother anyone else but me?!) ;-D

   Comment by chrys — July 12, 2006 @ 10:06 pm | Edit This

2. Chrys.

   I think I understand what you are saying.

   Yes, the Medal of Honor is awarded to members of the Armed Forces fighting for and defending a common cause. However, each of the services has a differenet mission, and the criteria for awarding the Medal is different.

   While there may be a way of standardizing the criteria, I think the award, by service, is appropriate and warranted with no degradation in the value or meaning of the award.

   Comment by Echo9er — July 13, 2006 @ 7:55 am | Edit This

3. It’s not Cashmere it’s Muslin - Bombs over Bombay

   It’s quite simple. It’s not border disputes; it’s not sectarian violence; it’s nothing to do with Kashmir.

   Before I tell you, here’s the background:

   Trackback by Planck's Constant — July 13, 2006 @ 12:50 pm | Edit This

4. Carnival of Blue Stars #15

   Welcome to the 15th Carnival of Blue Stars. Our military men and women are our best and brightest! Their accomplishments are the pride of our country. The Carnival of Blue Stars gives us, the families, friends, supporters, veterans and current servic…

   Trackback by Blue Star Chronicles — July 16, 2006 @ 12:32 am | Edit This

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