Reuters
The Medal of Honor is the highest and most prestigious award that can be given to American servicemen for distinguished service in the field of battle.
Since it was first given in 1863, the medal has been awarded only 3,517 times, 19 of which were double awards.
Today, the medal is given to any soldier who has distinguished themselves “conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States.”
Many of the medals are awarded posthumously, either because they died in battle, or because so much time has passed before they were recognized for their acts.
The award is usually given to the individual by the president during a ceremony. Because it is given in the name of Congress, it has often been called the “Congressional Medal of Honor.”
In honor of National Medal of Honor Day on March 25, here are 13 stories of those who received the nation’s highest honor:
Jacob Parrott, Civil War
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Private Jacob Parrot was the first person ever to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Parrot, along with six other Union soldiers, we awarded for their actions during the Great Locomotive Chase, also known as Andrews’ Raid, during the Civil War.
The raid saw 22 Union volunteers sneak behind enemy lines to Atlanta, steal a train, and ride up North to Chattanooga. Along the way, they cut telegraph lines, destroyed railroad tracks, and attempted to burn bridges.
The objective was to cut off Confederate-held Chattanooga from reinforcements as the Union Army would attack the city.
The raid ended in failure — some of the raiders were captured and executed, most of the damage was repaired quickly, and Union army postponed their attack on Chattanooga.
Despite the failure, the raiders who survived were hailed as heroes.
William Harvey Carney, Civil War
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William Harvey Carney was the first African-American awarded the Medal of Honor. He was born a slave in Virginia, but eventually made his way to freedom in Massachusetts.
When the Union Army began accepting volunteers, he joined the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the first African-American unit in organized by the northern states, though it was led by white officers.
The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, led by Robert Gould Shaw, was tasked with taking Fort Wagner, a beachhead fortification that guarded the southern approach to Charleston Harbor.
A previous attack on the fort failed, and the 54th was chosen for the next attempt. As the soldiers stormed the fort’s walls, the Union flag bearer was killed. Carney grabbed the flag and held it for the duration of the battle.
Carney, along with the rest of the 54th, was forced to retreat. Throughout the battle Carney never lost possession of the flag, despite suffering multiple injuries. “Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground!” he said after the battle.
Carney was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1900.
Mary Edwards Walker, Civil War
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Dr. Mary Edwards Walker is the first and only female recipient of the Medal of Honor in US history. She was an abolitionist and medical doctor who tried to join the Union Army as a surgeon, but was unable to because she was a woman.
She declined to work as a nurse and instead accepted an unpaid volunteer position at military hospitals on the front line.
In 1863 she was finally allowed to work as a “Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon,” and wore a modified uniform of her own designed that looked like a man’s.
During her service she “devoted herself with much patriotic zeal to the sick and wounded, both in the field and hospitals.” She was captured by the Confederates, but released in a prisoner exchange.
Major Generals William T. Sherman and George H. Thomas both commended her for her service, and President Andrew Johnson awarded her the Medal of Honor in 1865.
Her award was temporarily rescinded in 1917 after it was determined that it was “unwarranted” because of her status as a civilian. She refused to give her medal back and wore it every day until her death in 1919.
President Jimmy Carter reinstated Walker’s medal in 1977.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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