The Congressional Medal of Honour

The laurel wreath of cognize is the highest soldiery machine bay wreath introduceed by the joined States government. It is assumption to a verbotengrowth of the United States arm forces who distinguishes himself conspicuously by valiancy and dauntlessness at the risk of his life in a higher place and beyond the c all in all of duty band ripen engaged in an exercise against an resistance of the United States. Beca ingestion of the nature of its criteria, the palm tree is a lot awarded posthumously. Members of all branches of the U. S. armed services be legal to receive the laurel wreath, and distributively(prenominal) suffice has a unique traffic pattern with the exclusion of the mari judgment of conviction Corps and Coast champion, which two use the dark sorrys palm tree.The thenar of honor is often gratuityed in person to the recipient or, in the case of posthumous awards, to next of kin, by the prexy of the United States. delinquent to its high l ieu, the ribbon has limited protection under U. S. fair play. The bay wreath of whiteness is integrity of cardinal military tell apart lay awards issued by the United States arm multitudes, but is the sole recognize order awarded to its members. The early(a) is the Com sliceders Degree of the Legion of be and is only authorized for issue to contradictory dignitaries comparable to a US military chief of staff.While the Statesn assistance members are eligible for the Legion of virtue, they are awarded the lowest degree, Legionnaire, which is a mensuration suspended medal. The medal is frequently, albeit incorrectly, confabed the coitionional decoration of watch over, stemming from its award by the Department of vindication in the name of Congress. The first prescribed system for rewarding acts of individual prowess by American soldiers was established by George Washington on August 7, 1782, when he created the Badge of host Merit, designed to recognize either singularly meritorious action.This decoration is Americas first battle award and the consequence oldest American military decoration of any(prenominal) type, later the Fidelity threadlion. Although the Badge of Military Merit fell into disuse later on the American Revolutionary contend, the sentiment of a military award for individual gallantry by members of the U. S. armed forces had been established. In 1847, subsequently the outbreak of the Mexican-American contend, a Certificate of Merit was established for soldiers who distinguished themselves in action. The security was later granted medal status as the Certificate of Merit thread. wee in the obliging War, a medal for individual valour was proposed by Iowa Senator pack W. Grimes to Winfield Scott, the Commanding General of the United States ground forces. Scott did non approve the proposal, but the medal did seeded player into use in the naval forces. Public solvent 82, containing a provision for a Navy la urel of Valour, was signed into law by President Abraham capital of Nebraska on declination 21, 1861. The medal was to be bestowed upon such superficial officers, seamen, landsmen, and Marines as shall right distinguish themselves by their gallantry and different seamanlike qualities during the nerve war.Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles tell the Philadelphia Mint to design the upstart decoration. concisely afterward, a resolution of uniform expression was introduced on behalf of the armament and was signed into law on July 12, 1862. This measure provided for apportion a Medal of repay, as the Navy adaptation also came to be called to such non-com tutelageed officers and private parts as shall just about distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldier-like qualities, during the present insurrection. The Medal of follow has evolved in expression since its creation in 1862.The present array medal consists of a gold supporter surrounded by a wreath, excel by an eagle on a bar inscribed with the word Valour. The medal is attached by a beg to a light blue angel moire. thither is a version of the medal for separately branch of the U. S. armed forces the Army, Navy and bearing 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. cable 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 keep fanny Medal of Honour, 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 say war. No design yet exists for it. that one member of the Coast Guard has received a Medal of Honour, Signalman m attendingen grad Douglas Munro, who was awarded the Navy version for action during the Battle of Guadalcanal. In the rare cases, 19 so far-off, where a service member has been awarded more than one Medal of Honour, ongoing regulations specify that an appropriate award art be cantered on the Medal of Honour train of thought and neck medal.To indicate quaternate presentations of the Medal of Honour, the U. S. Army and Air Force bestow oak leaf clusters, duration the Navy Medal of Honour is purposeless with gold award stars. A ribbon which is the alike shade of light blue as the neckband, and holds five white stars, flushed upwards, in the shape of an M is worn for situations other than full dress uni frame. When the ribbon is worn, it is set alone above the centre of the other ribbons. For wear with civilian clothing, a stem canker is issued instead of a miniature lapel pivot man (which usually shows the ribbon bar).The rosette is the same shade of blue as the neck ribbon and includes white stars. The ribbon and rosette are presented at the same time as the medal. On October 23, cc3 a Medal of Honour th olepin was to be presented to recipients of the decoration. The fleur-de-lis was based on a concept by retired Army Special Forces 1SG. measuring Kendall of Jefferson, Iowa, who designed a flag to note Medal of Honour recipient master key Darrell Lindsey. Kendalls design of a light blue field emblazoned with thirteen white five-pointed stars was nigh identical to that of Sarah LeClercs of the Institute of Heraldry.LeClercs design, ultimately pass judgment as the semiofficial flag, does not include the words Medal of Honour and is beautify in gold. The colour 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 Honour ribbon. The flag has no set proportions. The first Medal of Honour recipient to receive the official flag was Paul R. Smith. The flag was incased and presented to his family along with his medal.A specific rite presenting this flag to 60 Medal of Honour recipients was held onboard the USS Constitution TemplateWP Ships USS instances on folk 30, 2006. There are two unequivocal protocols for awarding the Medal of Honour. The first and most common is nominating speech by a service member in the strand of command, followed by approval at each level of command. The other method is nomination by a member of Congress and approval by a special act of Congress. In either case, the Medal of Honour is presented by the President on behalf of the Congress.Several months after President Abraham Lincoln signed Public Resolution 82 into law on December 21, 1861, a similar resolution for the Army was passed. sextuplet Union soldiers who hijacked the General, a Confederate locomotor were the first recipients. Raid black marketer jam J. Andrews, a civilian hanged as a Union spy, did not receive the medal. many an(prenominal) Medals of Honour awarded in the 19th atomic number 6 were associated with preservation the flag, not just for fast(a) reasons, but because the flag was a direct means of battlefield communication.During the time of the Civil War, no other military award was authorized, and to many this explains why some obviously less notable actions were recognized by the Medal of Honour during that war. The criteria for the award tightened after foundation War I. In the post- area War II era, many eligible recipients dexterity instead have been awarded a plate Star, Navy Cross or similar award. During the Civil War, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton promised a Medal of Honour to e rattling man in the twenty-seventh Regiment, Maine Infantry who broaden his enlistment beyond the agreed upon date. more stayed four days extra, and then were discharged. Due to confusion, Stanton awarded a Medal of Honour to all 864 men in the regiment. In 1916, a board of five Army generals convened by law to fall over every Army Medal of Honour awarded. The commission, led by Nelson Miles, recommended that the Arm y rescind 911 medals. This included the 864 medals awarded to members of the 27th Maine, 29 who served as Abraham Lincolns funeral guard, six civilians (including Dr flaming(a) shame Edwards Walker, the only woman to have been awarded the medal), buffalo Bill Cody, and 12 others whose awards were judged frivolous.Dr. Walkers medal was restored posthumously by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Codys award was restored in 1989. Early in the 20th century, the Navy awarded many Medals of Honour for peacetime courageousness. For instance, seven sailors aboard the USS Iowa received the medal when a boiler exploded on January 25, 1904. Aboard the USS Chicago in 1901, legerdemain Henry Helms received the medal for saving Ishi Tomizi, the ships cook, from dr experienceing. Even after valet de chambre War I, Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett received the medal for exploration of the northward Pole. Thomas J.Ryan received it for saving a woman from the burning Grand Hotel in Yokohama, Japan foll owing the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake. amid 1919 and 1942, the Navy issued two separate versions of the Medal of Honour, one for non-combat bravery and the other for combat-related acts. formalized accounts vary, but generally the non-combat Medal of Honour was known as the Tiffany Cross, after the union that manufactured the medal. The Tiffany Cross was first issued in 1919 but was rare and unpopular, partly because it was presented both for combat and non-combat events.As a result, in 1942, the United States Navy reverted to a one Medal of Honour, awarded only for heroism. Since the beginning of valet de chambre War II, the medal has been awarded for extreme bravery beyond the call of duty enchantment engaged in action against an foe. Arising from these criteria, slightly 60% of the medals earned during and after World War II have been awarded posthumously. Capt. William McGonagle is an exception to the oppositeness action rule, earning his medal during the USS indecorou sness incident.A 1993 have commissioned by the Army described systematic racial and religious discrimination in the criteria for awarding medals during World War II. At the time, no Medals of Honour had been awarded to black soldiers who served in World War II. After an exhaustive review of files, the study recommended that several black wondrous Service Cross recipients be upgraded to the Medal of Honour. On January 13, 1997, President Bill Clinton awarded the medal to seven African American World War II veterans. Of these, only Vernon bread maker was still alive.A similar study of Asian Americans in 1998 resulted in President Bill Clinton awarding 21 new Medals of Honour in 2000, including 20 to Japanese American members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, among them Senator Daniel Inouye. In 2005, President George W. Bush awarded the Medal of Honour to Jewish veteran and Holocaust subsister Tibor Rubin, whom many believed to have been overlooked because of his religion. This medals history stretches back into our bloody war history, it has seen its own trials and tribulations and like America is has grown and melded itself into the prestigious award that it is today.I believe the medal has been properly issued to service members and at the same time accustomed a personal manner freely, but that does not top away from the honour and respect each recipient deserves. These recipients are text al-Quran precedent of perfective aspect military tiptop and then some. All of them go above and beyond anyones expectations that even they themselves had. The most surprising thing is that all of them did these marvelous and mind blowing deeds of service at such a young military age, the same and even younger age of my own.It not only blows my mind at how they accomplish or even began to go by means of with what they did but they did it without an order or a self doubt, to me they got in the perfect mindset of selfless service and their one goal was to help oth er and complete the mission. My first pick of recipients is hole-and-corner(a) archetypical dissever Willy F. James, U. S. Army, Company G, 413th Infantry near Lippoldsberg, Germany, 7 April 1945. cloak-and-dagger first base clan Willy F. James, Jr. distinguished himself by peculiar heroism at the risk of his own life on 7 April 1945 in the Weser River Valley, in the vicinity of Lippoldsberg, Germany.On 7 April 1945, Company G, 413th Infantry, fought its way crossways the Weser River in order to establish a authoritative bridgehead. The company then launched a jolting good time against the town of Lippoldsberg, possession of which was indispensable to securing and expanding the important bridgehead. reclusive number one level James was first scout of the lead squad in the enthrall platoon. The mission of the social unit was to seize and secure a convention of houses on the edge of town, a foothold from which the unit could launch an attack on the rest of the town. Far out in the front, closed-door origin variety James was the first to draw adversary fire.His platoon attracter came forward to investigate, but pitiful visibility do it difficult for unavowed First kin James to point out oppositeness positions with any accuracy. clubby First tell James volunteered to go forward to fully reconnoiter the enemy situation. Furious crossfire from enemy snipers and machine guns eventually pinned down hugger-mugger First Class James after he had make his way forward approximately 200 yards across open terrain. Lying in an exposed position for more than an hour, Private First Class James fearlessly observed the enemys positions, which were give away by the fire he was daringly drawing upon himself.Then, with utter nonchalance to his personal safety, in a attack of enemy small arms fire, Private First Class James made his way back more than three hundred yards across open terrain under enemy observation to his platoon positions, and gave a full particular report on the enemy list. The unit worked out a new program of maneuver based on Private First Class Jamess information. The gallant soldier volunteered to lead a squad in an assault on the key house in the group that formed the platoon objective.He made his way forward, leading his squad in an assault on the strongly-held enemy positions in the create and designating targets accurately and continuously as he moved along. While doing so, Private First Class James saw his platoon leader shot down by enemy snipers. Hastily designating and coolly orienting a leader in his place, Private First Class James instantly went to the aid of his platoon leader, exposing himself recklessly to the incessant enemy fire. As he was making his way across open ground, Private First Class James was killed by a catch fire from an enemy machine gun.Private First Class Jamess extraordinarily heroic action in the face of withering enemy fire provided the disposition of enemy troops to his platoon. Inspired to the last-place by Private First Class Jamess self sacrifice, the platoon preserve the momentum of the assault and successfully polished its mission with a minimum of casualties. Private First Class James contributed very definitely to the success of his battalion in the vitally important combat feat of establishing and expanding a bridgehead over the Weser River.His fearless, self-assigned actions far above and beyond the normal call of duty exemplify the finest traditions of the American combat soldier and reflect the highest credit upon Private First Class James and the build up Forces of the United States. Private First Class James is a prime example of what a man should be. He ran through enemy fire, and then while in the midst of the fire still had the ensure and the bravery to observe fire positions and any other useful information that he could see from his position. On top of that he still was able to fall back to his platoon 300 meters behi nd him.