als for different actions, five World War I Marines received two medals apiece for the same heroic act. As Marines under the Department of the Navy, they received the Navy’s Medal of Honor — but because they fought under the Army’s command, they received the Army medal, too. In 1918, Congress mandated only
one Medal of Honor per recipient, no matter the number of valorous acts. The Medal of Honor continued to find its way around the necks of great men, but heroism remained a matter of perspective. Charles Lindbergh, a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, received the medal for his 1927 transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. Navy Cmdr. Richard E. Byrd Jr. similarly was decorated for his flight over the North Pole. Recipients long have been held in
high regard by the American people and given added benefits by a grate- ful government. They receive mon- etary stipends. They are invited to special events such as presidential inaugurations. According to Kara Newcomer, a Marine Corps histo- rian, President Theodore Roosevelt’s Sept. 20, 1905, executive order de- clared Medal of Honor recipients were to be presented their medals with all due ceremony. They should be ordered to Washington, D.C., and
presented by the president when practical, declared Roosevelt. Before 1905, some medals were mailed to recipients. Others had them presented by their local commands or in the field. “It really isn’t until World War II we see direct presidential par- ticipation become a more common honor,” says Newcomer.
A proud homefront By 1941, the Medal of Honor was almost as firmly established as it is today. Richly decorated heroes bolstered a concerned homefront. During the early days of World War II, it was anyone’s guess whether Allied or Axis powers had the supe- rior force. But 20 Medal of Honor recipients from the Guadalcanal campaign reassured Americans their troops were fighting to win. Many recipients achieved celebrity
status. Marine Staff Sgt. John Basilone, who was awarded his medal for hero- ism on the island of Guadalcanal, was a darling of the War Bond circuit. His combat prowess became fodder for homefront lore. Basilone later chose to return to combat and was killed on Iwo Jima. Valor continued to be measured in
varied ways in the World War II era. Then-Marine Maj. Gen. Alexander Vandergrift was awarded the medal for his leadership of the 1st Marine
*Then-Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis, USA, C Com- pany, 1-26th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, saved the lives of four soldiers by diving on a grenade while inside a Humvee in Adhamiyah, Iraq, Dec. 4, 2006.
Then-Spc. Salvatore Giunta, USA, Company B, 2nd Battalion (Air- borne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, risked his life to save a wounded soldier from being cap- tured in Korengal Val- ley, Afghanistan, Oct. 25, 2007.
54 MILITARY OFFICER D ECEMBER 2011 *INDICATES THE MEDAL OF HONOR WAS AWARDED POSTHUMOUSLY
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