The youngest person ever to receive the Medal of Honor was probably William "Willie" Johnston, who earned the Medal during the Civil War just prior to his 12th birthday and received his award 6 weeks after his 13th.
World War II hero Jack Lucas became the youngest man in this century to receive the award when he threw his body over two grenades at Iwo Jima just 5 days after his 17th birthday. At the time of his heroism, he had already been in the Marine Corps for three years. Thornton risked his own life to rescue his wounded team leader. His team leader, Navy Lt. Thomas R.
Norris had been submitted for the Medal of Honor for his own heroic actions just 6 months earlier. Thornton was the first person in more than a century to receive that honor for saving the life of another Medal of Honor recipient. Norris did not receive his award until March 6, The brotherhood of Medal recipients is strong and generates many long-lasting friendships.
Jacob Parrott, the first person ever to be presented with the Medal of Honor remained such a close friendship with fellow "Raider" Wilson W. Brown one of the two men who engineered The General in the "Great Locomotive Chase" , that their children became more than friends. Yes, it is illegal to wear someone else's Medal of Honor, but it is not illegal to pretend you have one. The U. Army site for the U. It is not a part of the Department of Defense or any of its components and it has no governmental status.
About Us About The Museum. Contact Contact Us. Visit Visit The Museum. Giving About The Foundation. Ways To Give Friend of the Museum. On March 18, , President Obama presented Medals of Honor to 24 recipients, all Army and many of whom were overlooked initially due to bias because they were Hispanic, Jewish, or African American.
He remarked that this was the single largest group of servicemembers to be awarded the Medal of Honor since the Second World War. Each of these Soldiers' bravery was previously recognized by award of the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second highest military award; that award will be upgraded to the Medal of Honor in recognition of their gallantry, intrepidity and heroism above and beyond the call of duty.
Additionally, the President awarded Medals of Honor to living servicemembers of the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. White for saving a soldier's life and helping evacuate other wounded soldiers during an ambush in Afghanistan in White received the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions during combat operations in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan. Carpenter received the medal for taking the blast from a grenade to protect fellow Marines, sustaining major wounds that required over 40 surgeries to repair a collapsed lung, fractured fingers, a shattered right arm, and multiple skin grafts.
Pitts distinguished himself by extraordinary acts of heroism at the risk of his life while serving as a Forward Observer in 2d Platoon, Chosen Company, 2d Battalion Airborne , d Infantry Regiment, d Airborne Brigade, during combat operations against an armed enemy at Vehicle Patrol Base Kahler in the vicinity of Wanat Village, Kunar Province, Afghanistan on July 13, Sloat for heroic actions in Vietnam.
Bill Sloat, on his behalf. As the President noted in his opening remarks, "sometimes even the most extraordinary stories can get lost in the fog of war or the passage of time. Yet when new evidence comes to light, certain actions can be reconsidered for this honor, and it is entirely right and proper that we have done so.
Cushing for acts of valor during the Civil War. Pickett at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, The President remarked, "We can't change what happened to too many soldiers like him, who went uncelebrated because our nation judged them by the color of their skin and not the content of their character. But we can do our best to make it right. He stated, "It takes our nation too long sometimes to say so—because Sergeant Shemin served at a time when the contributions and heroism of Jewish Americans in uniform were too often overlooked.
William Shemin saved American lives and he represented our nation with honor. See Table 1 for a list of bills introduced in the current Congress to award the Medal of Honor as of the date of this report. Table 1. Medal of Honor Bills in the th Congress To provide for the posthumous commission as a captain in the regular Army of Milton Holland, who, while sergeant major of the 5 th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry, was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Civil War.
Gentile for acts of valor during WWII. Smithhisler for acts of valor in November during World War I. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, DOD, U. Sammons, Jeffrey T. Morrow, Jr. Harlem's Rattlers and the Great War. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, Committee Print No.
Munro is the only Coast Guardsman to receive the MoH, see pp. Yockelson, Mitchell. Below are samples of official MoH citations. Entered service at : Boscobel, Wis. Birth: Grant County, Wis. Date of issue: 29 June Citation: Unsurpassed courage in battle, where he had both eyes shot out. Entered service at : Philadelphia, PA. Date of issue: 30 March Citation: Took up the flag after three color bearers had been shot down and bore forward, though himself wounded.
Rank and organization : Lieutenant Colonel, U. Date of issue : 16 January Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt, in total disregard for his personal safety, and accompanied by only four or five men, led a desperate and gallant charge up San Juan Hill, encouraging his troops to continue the assault through withering enemy fire over open countryside.
Facing the enemy's heavy fire, he displayed extraordinary bravery throughout the charge, and was the first to reach the enemy trenches, where he quickly killed one of the enemies with his pistol, allowing his men to continue the assault. His leadership and valor turned the tide in the Battle for San Juan Hill. Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Rank and organization: Ensign, U. Naval Reserve. Born: 15 March , Charlotte, Mich. Accredited to: Michigan. Citation: For conspicuous devotion to duty and extraordinary courage and complete disregard of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, by Japanese forces on 7 December When it was seen that the USS Oklahoma was going to capsize and the order was given to abandon ship, Ensign Flaherty remained in a turret, holding a flashlight so the remainder of the turret crew could escape, thereby sacrificing his own life.
Rank and organization: Commander, U. Born: 29 September , Selma, Ala. Appointed from: Louisiana. Other Navy award: Navy Cross with one gold star. Boldly striking at the enemy in spite of continuous hostile air and anti-submarine patrols, Commander Gilmore sank one Japanese freighter and damaged another by torpedo fire, successfully evading severe depth charges following each attack.
In the darkness of night on 7 February, an enemy gunboat closed range and prepared to ram the Growler. Commander Gilmore daringly maneuvered to avoid the crash and rammed the attacker instead, ripping into her port side at 17 knots and bursting wide her plates. In the terrific fire of the sinking gunboat's heavy machine guns, Commander Gilmore calmly gave the order to clear the bridge, and refusing safety for himself, remained on the deck while his men preceded him below.
Struck down by the fusillade of bullets and having done his utmost against the enemy, in his final living moments, Commander Gilmore gave his last order to the officer of the deck, "Take her down.
Entered service at: Buffalo, N. Date and place of birth: February 14, , Niagara Falls, N. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Company I was establishing night ambush sites when the command group was attacked by a reinforced North Vietnamese company supported by heavy automatic weapons and mortar fire.
Lieutenant Bobo immediately organized a hasty defense and moved from position to position encouraging the outnumbered Marines despite the murderous enemy fire. Recovering a rocket launcher from among friendly casualties, he organized a new launcher team and directed its fire into the enemy machine gun positions. When an exploding enemy mortar round severed Lieutenant Bobo's right leg below the knee, he refused to be evacuated and insisted upon being placed in a firing position to cover the movement of the command group to a better location.
With a web belt around his leg serving as a tourniquet and with his leg jammed into the dirt to curtail the bleeding, he remained in this position and delivered devastating fire into the ranks of the enemy attempting to overrun the Marines. Lieutenant Bobo was mortally wounded while firing his weapon into the main point of the enemy attack but his valiant spirit inspired his men to heroic efforts, and his tenacious stand enabled the command group to gain a protective position where it repulsed the enemy onslaught.
Lieutenant Bobo's superb leadership, dauntless courage, and bold initiative reflected great credit upon him and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country. These totals reflect the total number of Medals of Honor awarded.
Nineteen 19 men received a second award. Fourteen 14 of these men received two 2 for separate actions, five 5 received the Navy and Army Medals for Honor for the same action. The Air Corps was the predecessor of the U. Table A Kreiser, Korean War. Repeal of limitation on number of medals; Sec. Standardization of time-limits for recommending and awarding Medal of Honor and other medals; Sec. Recodification and revision of Medal of Honor Roll requirements.
Authorization for award of the Medal of Honor to former members of the Armed Forces previously recommended for award of the Medal of Honor. Authorization for award of the Medal of Honor for acts of valor during the Vietnam War. To authorize and request the President to issue a posthumous commission in the regular Army to Milton Holland, who, while sergeant major of the 5 th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry, was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Civil War.
Waives time limitation for consideration of this award for a Sgt. William Shemin and b Pvt. Henry Johnson. A concurrent resolution recommending the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Rafael Peralta. This report was originally authored by [author name scrubbed], Specialist in Military Manpower Policy. All questions should be directed to the current author.
George Washington created the Purple Heart in Three men received the award in The Purple Heart was not awarded again until World War I or later, and was based on different criteria.
Acts of bravery and courage are not unusual among those in uniform. The fact that many members of the U. Armed Forces have engaged in direct battle with an enemy or carried out their duties under enemy attack is taken as a sign of this bravery and courage. However, the level of heroism usually cited among those who receive the Medal of Honor is uncommonly high. There have been 87 African-American recipients, 41 Hispanic-American recipients, 22 Native American recipients, 22 Asian-American recipients, and one female recipient.
There have been 19 double Medal of Honor recipients. The Medal of Honor is the only U. Among other privileges, Medal of Honor recipients receive invitations to attend presidential inaugurations and accompanying festivities. There are two protocols for awarding the Medal of Honor.
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