The Medal of Honor is a United States government’s highest military decoration that may be awarded to American veterans. The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States but presented in the name of the United States Congress, often referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor. There are three variants of the Medal: one for the Department of the Army, awarded to soldiers; one for the Department of the Navy, awarded to sailors and marines, as well as coast guardsmen of the Department of Homeland Security; and one for the Department of the Air Force, awarded to airmen and Space Force guardians.
The Medal of Honor is the oldest combat decoration of all the United States Armed Forces. There have been 3,526 medals of honor awarded with 40 percent awarded for actions during the American Civil War. The first medal of honor was awarded March 25, 1863 and last awarded September 11, 2020. It has evolved in appearance over time. The upside-down star design of the Department of Navy versions pendant adopted in early 1862 has not changed since its inception. After World War I, the Department of Navy decided to separate the Medal of Honor into two versions: one for combat and one for non-combat. This was an attempt to circumvent the requirement enacted in 1919 that recipients participate in actual combat with the enemy.
In 1944 the suspension ribbons for both versions were replaced with the current neck ribbon. October 23, 2002, Congress authorized a Medal of Honor flag to be presented to each person to whom a Medal of Honor is awarded. The first Medal of Honor flag was presented posthumously by President George W. Bush to the recipient’s family during the Award Ceremony at the White House on April 4, 2005. In 1990, Congress designated March 25 annually as National Medal of Honor Day.
During the Vietnam War, 248 Medals of Honor were awarded, of which 156 were presented posthumously. There are seven Vietnam Veterans awarded the Medal of Honor from Nebraska. Read more about each of these Veterans at https://nvvmf.org/medal-of-honor/.