October 09, 2005
CMH
The 3 Present Day Variations of the Medal Of Honor, Army,Navy, and Air Force (the Marines and Coast Guard share the Navy version):
Yesterday was the 87th anniversery of Sgt. Alvin York's induction into an elite group; those that have earned our nations highest military award, the Congressional Medal of Honor. Sgt. York was awarded the medal for leading seven men against German troops, capturing or killing more than 150 German soldiers.
Since it's inception on Dec. 9, 1861 , it's an honor that has been presented only 3,459 times.
The first Medal of Honor was earned by Army assistant surgeon Bernard J.D. Irwin for his actions on the 13th of Feb. 1861,when he rescued 60 soldiers of 2d Lt. George Bascom's unit at Apache Pass, AZ. Irwin received the award in 1894. The first M'soH ever presented were received by six of the surviving members of Andrew's Raiders, on the 25 of March, 1863, by then Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.
The standards for receiving the medal are extremely high, the BASIC requirements are that the candidate "exhibits conspicuous and intrepid bravery at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty,in combat against an armed enemy force". At the present time, there are 121 surviving MoH recipients.
Number of Medals awarded to date, broken down to service:
Army: 2,357
Navy: 744
USMC: 300
USAF: 17
USCG: 1
Unknowns: 9
I thought it might be fun to see how much you might know about the Medal of Honor.
Here's seven questions, see how you do. The answers will be below the fold, no fair peeking! Don't look until after you've written the comment. To make it simple, they are in true or false form.
1. When drafted, Alvin York applied for concientious objector status.
2. No woman has been awarded the Medal of Honor.
3. The first Black American to recieve the award fought in Viet Nam.
4. The Medal of Honor has been awarded in every major conflict since the Civil War.
5. The Medal of Honor has never been awarded to a foreign born recipient.
6. No recipient has ever been awarded more than one MoH.
7. The Medal of Honor was the only medal awarded during the Civil War.
Want to learn more about the Medal of Honor? GO HERE.
Answers:
1. TRUE York was deeply religious, and felt that all war was wrong. He was denied the exemption because his denomination (Church of Christ in Christian Union) was not a recognized sect at the time.
2. FALSE Mary Edwards Walker, a Civil War nurse and surgeon captured as a prisoner of war was awarded the medal in 1865. (It was revoked in 1917, but restored to her posthumously in 1977.)
3.FALSE William Carney a former slave, and a member of the 54th Mass. Colored Infantry was the first Black recipient for his actions at Ft. Wagner, S.C., on On July 18, 1863
4.FALSE No awards were issued for actions in Granada, Panama,Lebanon, or Desert Storm.
5.FALSE There are more than 700 foreign-born Medal of Honor recipients.
6. FALSE There have been 19 Double Medal of Honor Recipients.
7. TRUE
Posted by Delftsman3 at October 9, 2005 05:37 PM | TrackBack