Medal of Honor

This article is about the U.S. military award. For other uses, see Medal of Honor (disambiguation).
Medal of Honor
Medals of Honor of the three military departments
TypeMilitary medal with neck ribbon
(decoration)
Awarded forConspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty[1][2][a]
Presented byThe president of the United States in the name of the United States Congress[3]
EligibilityUnited States Armed Forces service members
StatusCurrently awarded
EstablishedNaval Service: December 21, 1861[4]
Army: July 12, 1862[5]
Air Force: August 10, 1956[6]
Coast Guard: July 25, 1963[7]
Space Force: January 1, 2021[8]
First awardedMarch 25, 1863[b]
Last awardedJuly 4, 2024[9]
Total awarded posthumously618[10]
Total recipients3,536[11]


Service ribbon and flag
Precedence
Next (lower)Army: Distinguished Service Cross
Naval Service: Navy Cross
Air and Space Forces: Air Force Cross
Coast Guard: Coast Guard Cross

The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians, and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor.[1][12] The medal is normally awarded by the president of the United States (the commander in chief of the armed forces) and is presented "in the name of the United States Congress." It is often colloquially (but technically incorrectly) referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor.[13][14]

There are three distinct variants of the medal: one for the Department of the Army, awarded to soldiers; one for branches of the Department of the Navy, awarded to sailors, marines, and coast guardsmen; and one for military branches of the Department of the Air Force, awarded to airmen and guardians.[1][15] The Medal of Honor was introduced for the Naval Service in 1861,[16] soon followed by the Army's version in 1862.[17] The Air Force used the Army's version until they received their own distinctive version in 1965.[18] The Medal of Honor is the oldest continuously issued combat decoration of the United States Armed Forces.[19] The president typically presents the Medal of Honor at a formal ceremony intended to represent the gratitude of the American people, with posthumous presentations made to the primary next of kin.[20][21][22]

As of September 2023, there have been 3,536 Medals of Honor awarded, with over 40% awarded for actions during the American Civil War.[11] A total of 911 Army medals were revoked after Congress authorized a review in 1917, and a number of Navy medals were also revoked before the turn of the century—none of these are included in this total except for those that were subsequently restored.[23] In 1990, Congress designated March 25 as Medal of Honor Day.[24]

  1. ^ a b c "Description of Awards – U.S. Military Awards for Valor". U.S. Department of Defense. Archived from the original on 2021-06-18. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  2. ^ Department of the Army (July 1, 2002). "Section 578.4 Medal of Honor". Code of Federal Regulations Title 32, Volume 2. United States Government Publishing Office. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
  3. ^ "DoD Manual 1348.33, Vol 1, October 19, 2020. p. 4, 1.2.b./p. 8, 3.1.a." (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  4. ^ Act of December 21, 1861, 12 Stat. 330
  5. ^ Act of July 12, 1862, 12 Stat. 623–624
  6. ^ An Act to Revise, Codify, and Enact into Law, Title 10 of the United States Code, Entitled “Armed Forces,” and Title 32 of the United States Code, Entitled “National Guard,” Pub. L. 84-1028 (1956), 70A Stat. 540.
  7. ^ Pub. L. 88–77 (1963), 77 Stat. 95.
  8. ^ National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Pub L. 116–283 (2021), 134 Stat. 3811.
  9. ^ "Remarks by President Biden at Presentation of the Medal of Honor to Army Private Philip G. Shadrach and Private George D. Wilson". The White House. July 4, 2024.
  10. ^ "Statistics of the Medal of Honor for the United States Army". U.S. Army. Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  11. ^ a b "Medal of Honor". Mohhsus.com. Medal of Honor Historical Society of the United States. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2021. as of July 5, 2022, there have been 3,534 Medals of Honor awarded including 19 second awards.
  12. ^ "Department of Defense Manual 1348.33, Volume 1" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 9, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  13. ^ "The Medal of Honor". Library of Congress. December 14, 2020. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  14. ^ DoD Award Manual, November 23, 2010, 1348. 33, P. 31, 8. c. (1) (a)
    Tucker, Spencer C.; Arnold, James; Wiener, Roberta (2011). The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars, 1607–1890: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. p. 879. ISBN 978-1-85109-697-8. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
  15. ^ "Congressional Medal of Honor Society". Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  16. ^ Act of December 21, 1861, 12 Stat. 330.
  17. ^ Act of July 12, 1862, 12 Stat. 623–624.
  18. ^ US Air Force, The Medal of Honor, https://www.af.mil/Medal-of-Honor/The-Medal/
  19. ^ "Medal of Honor". American Battlefield Trust. March 23, 2018. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  20. ^ "Department of Defense Manual 1348.33, Volume 1" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 9, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  21. ^ Pullen, John J. (1997). A Shower of Stars: The Medal of Honor and the 27th Maine. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. pp. preface p2. ISBN 978-0811700757. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  22. ^ SECNAVINST 1650.1H, P. 2–20, 224.2. August 22, 2006
  23. ^ Dwight Mears, “Medals ‘Ridiculously Given’?: The Authority to Award, Revoke, and Reinstate Military Decorations in Three Case Studies Involving Executive Clemency,” Military Law Review 229 (2021): 398, 419.
  24. ^ Public Law 101-564, November 15, 1990


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