The Medal of Honor is the most esteemed gallantry award for the armed forces of the United States. Among the most recognized awards the Medal of Honor came into being when George Washington thought of a way to appreciate the forces and soldiers for their bravery and found out a way for which every soldier would sacrifice his life to get his name in the bearers of the honor. Many controversies came into being regarding the policies and awarding to the soldiers but they were denied by people of the government and forces. Today many of the soldiers carry their self to war rocked places to get this honor for their self and family.
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is given to a member a member of the United States armed forces who puts himself at risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the united state. The Medal of Honor has been distributed in the history because of the glory and courage of American armed forces.
Members of all branches of the U.S. military are eligible to receive the Medal of Honor; each service has a different designs. But the Marine Corps and Coast Guard both use the Navy’s medal. The Medal of Honor is often presented personally to the recipient or, in the case of posthumous awards, to next of kin, by the President of the United States. Due to its high status, the medal has special protection under U.S. law.
The Medal of Honor is one of two military neck order awards issued by the United States Armed Forces. The medal is also called the Congressional Medal of Honor, as it stems from the Department of Defense and it is also connected to the congress. The first formal system for rewarding of this gallantry award for American soldiers was established by George Washington on August 7, 1782, when he created the Badge of Military Merit, designed to recognize “any singularly meritorious action in war.” This decoration is America’s first combat award and the second oldest American military decoration of any type, the first one is Fidelity Medallion.
The Medal of Honor has evolved in appearance time to time and the changing took place since its creation in 1862. The present Army medal consists of a gold star surrounded by a wreath, topped by an eagle on a bar inscribed with the word “Valor.” The medal is attached by a hook to a light blue moiré silk neckband that is 13⁄16 inches (30 mm) in width and 21¾ inches (552 mm) in length.
There is a version of the medal for each branch of the U.S. armed forces: the Army, Navy and Air Force. Since the U.S. Marine Corps is administratively a part of the Department of the Navy, Marines receive the Navy medal. Before 1965, when the U.S. Air Force design was adopted, members of the U.S. Army Air Corps, U.S. Army Air Forces, and Air Force received the Army version of the medal.
The Coast Guard Medal of Honor, which was distinguished from the Navy medal in 1963, has never been awarded, partly because the U.S. Coast Guard is subsumed into the U.S. Navy in time of declared war. No design yet exists for it. Only one member of the Coast Guard has received a Medal of Honor, Signalman 1st Class Douglas Munro, who was awarded the Navy version for action during the Battle of Guadalcanal.
In the rare cases (19 thus far) where a service member has been awarded more than one Medal of Honor, current regulations specify that an appropriate award device be centered on the Medal of Honor ribbon and neck medal. To indicate multiple presentations of the Medal of Honor, the U.S. Army and Air Force bestow oak leaf clusters, while the Navy Medal of Honor is worn with gold award stars.
The flag was based on a concept by retired Army Special Forces 1SG. Bill Kendall of Jefferson, Iowa, who designed a flag to honor Medal of Honor recipient Captain Darrell Lindsey, a B-26 pilot killed in World War II who was also from Jefferson. Kendall’s design of a light blue field emblazoned with thirteen white five-pointed stars was nearly identical to that of Sarah LeClerc’s of the Institute of Heraldry. LeClerc’s design, ultimately accepted as the official flag, does not include the words “Medal of Honor” and is fringed in gold. The color of the field and the 13 white stars, arranged in the form of a three bar chevron, consisting of two chevrons of 5 stars and one chevron of 3 stars, replicate the Medal of Honor ribbon.
