Medal of Honor Recipients

Medal of Honor recipients include those U.S. military personnel who have received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest decoration for valor in combat.  Medal of Honor recipients are presented a medal which is indicative of the recipient’s branch of service and worn at the throat, suspended from a pale blue ribbon.  The criteria for Medal of Honor recipients has evolved through the years since the award was established during the Civil War.

The Gettysburg cyclorama shows a badly wounded Alonzo Cushing commanding one of his guns in The Angle.

Medal of Honor Recipients

Union Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing

By William E. Welsh

One of the smoothbore cannons in Captain Merritt B. Miller’s Third Company of the Washington Artillery deployed west of Emmitsburg Road just south of the town of Gettysburg fired a single round at 1:07 p.m. Read more

Marine Corporal Dakota Meyer, who trained Afghan National Security Forces in the use of weapons, took up a position with the quick reaction force during the security sweep of Ganjal village in September 2009.

Medal of Honor Recipients

Marine Corporal Dakota Meyer in Afghanistan

By William E. Welsh

Moonlight bathed the dusty narrow path leading into the village of Ganjal shortly before sunrise on September 8, 2009, as nearly 100 soldiers climbed out of more than a dozen vehicles a mile from the seemingly peaceful village. Read more

Major Richard Bong was America’s Ace of Aces.

Medal of Honor Recipients

Richard Bong (1920-1945)

By Sam McGowan

Without dispute, the P-38 was the airplane of the aces. While other fighter types had their share of aces, the P-38 was flown by most of the top scorers, of whom Major Richard Ira Bong was at the top of the heap. Read more

Medal of Honor Recipients

Medal of Honor Recipient: Henry “Red” Erwin

By Robert F. Dorr

In the closing months of World War II, Staff Sergeant Henry E. “Red” Erwin, Sr., picked up a burning phosphorus flare inside the cramped fuselage of his Boeing  B-29 Superfortress bomber high over Japan. Read more

Sitting atop their Stuart light tanks, soldiers of the 761st wait for orders to enter the town of Coburg, Germany, to clean out pockets of stubborn German resistance.

Medal of Honor Recipients

Segregation in the U.S. Military: Ruben Rivers

By Michael Haskew

On July 26, 1948, President Harry Truman issued Executive Order No. 9981, which stated in part, “It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin.” Read more

Medal of Honor Recipients

Charles Kettles Awarded the Medal of Honor

On July 18, 2016, President Barack Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Charles Kettles, whose actions in the Vietnam War saved dozens of American lives. Read more