The Medal of Honor was established in 1861 during the Civil War by a congressional resolution in recognition of Navy service members, "to be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and Marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry and other seamanlike qualities during the present war." The following year, Congress created a similar citation for soldiers in the Army.
Since then, more than 3,400 men and one woman have received the award for heroic actions in the nation's military conflicts, from major wars to relatively small-scale actions such as a campaign in Haiti in 1915. The president of the United States generally presents the medal on behalf of Congress to the recipient or to his or her survivors. Any member of Congress or a superior in the chain of command can recommend a service member for the honor.
There are three different styles of the medal. The Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard continue to use the same design that was originally approved in 1861: an inverted gold star featuring a central motif of a shield-bearing Minerva putting down the figure of discord. The Army medal, also star-shaped, features the head of Minerva and is surrounded by laurels, topped with an eagle and the word “valor.” The Air Force medal, which is about 50 percent larger than the other medals, replaces Minerva with the Statue of Liberty and the eagle with the Air Force coat of arms, while retaining the word “valor.” In all cases, the medal is suspended from a blue ribbon that features 13 stars, representing the original 13 American colonies.
As of April 2007, only two U.S. military personnel who served in Iraq have received the Medal of Honor. One went to Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham, who died after throwing himself on a grenade to shield the other members of his squad while on a reconnaissance mission in Karabilah. The other recipient, also posthumous, was Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul Smith, who demonstrated uncommon valor when his unit came under attack while constructing a prisoner-of-war holding area near Baghdad International Airport.
Because of racial discrimination, it took nearly 60 years for 29 African Americans and Asian Americans to be recognized for their heroic actions during World War II. They were finally honored, many of them posthumously, at ceremonies conducted at the White House in 1997 and 2000. There is a statute of limitations for the award, but it was waived to correct this unfair discrepancy. U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, who was a combat infantryman in Europe during World War II, was among those to benefit from the revision.
Gaiutra Bahadur is a freelance journalist who covered the war in Iraq while a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
