The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. Recipients must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their own lives above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy of the United States. Due to the nature of this medal, it is commonly presented posthumously. The President of the United States, in the name of the United States Congress, has awarded more than 3,520 Medals of Honor, including 19 second awards to the nation's soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coast guardsmen since the decoration's creation in 1861.
The citations highlighting acts of gallantry that received the Medal of Honor have been and continue to be regularly released by book publishers. After the Second World War, both the Army and Navy produced hardbound Medal of Honor compilations. Between 1964 and 1979, the United States Senate Subcommittee on Veterans' Affairs of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare and later the Committee on Veterans' Affairs produced a number of consolidated compilations of all Medal of Honor citations to date. Additions and changes to the list of recipients of the medal since 1979 have been regularly published by the Congressional Research Service.
The first Army Medal of Honor was awarded to Private Jacob Parrott during the American Civil War for his role in the Great Locomotive Chase.
Bernard John Dowling Irwin was the first (chronologically by action) Medal of Honor recipient during the Apache Wars. His actions on February 13, 1861, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded.
The first African American recipient for this award was Robert Blake, who manned his post during a naval engagement against infantry while under heavy fire (William Harvey Carney is commonly and erroneously cited as the first African-American to receive a medal because his actions in combat did precede those of the other African-American recipients, although his physical medal was not presented until 1900). The only female Medal of Honor recipient is Mary Edwards Walker, a Civil War surgeon. Her medal was rescinded in 1917 along with many other non-combat awards, but it was restored by President Jimmy Carter in 1977.
While current law, (10 U.S.C. § 6241), beginning in 1918, explicitly states that recipients must be serving in the U.S. Armed Forces at the time of performing a valorous act that warrants the award, exceptions have been made. Notably, Charles Lindbergh, while a reserve member of the U.S. Army Air Corps, received his Medal of Honor as a civilian pilot. Although Medals of Honor can only be awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces, being a U.S. citizen is not a prerequisite for eligibility to receive the medal. Sixty-one Canadians who were serving in the United States Armed Forces have received the Medal of Honor; most received it 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-born recipient of the Medal of Honor. However, he was a U.S. citizen.
View More On Wikipedia.org
