A Civil War drummer boy, a suffragette and doctor of medicine, a son of a US president and Kentucky Farmboy.
What do these four people have in common?
All four earned the Medal of Honor, the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration.
Stay tuned to learn about their histories.
I am your host, Bruce Wittman, here to share a few amazing stories of bravery and valor
from our nation's heroes who have earned the Medal of Honor. Next on Marking History!
Located close to March Air Reserve Base, in California stands - not just a marker
but this incredible memorial to recipients of the Medal of Honor.
The United States of America Medal of Honor Memorial honors each hero on these Campaign panels,
with their names inscribed in gold.
On this panel you will find Dan Daly and Smedley Butler from the First Haitian Campaign.
And on the World War II panel, you can find James Doolittle and John Basilone.
Now let's learn more about the history behind the prestigious Navy, Army, and Air Force Medals of Honor.
On December 9th, 1861 Iowa Senator James Grimes introduced legislation in Congress
to create medals of honor in order to promote the efficiency of the Navy.
This medal was presented to enlisted seamen and Marines who distinguished themselves by gallantry in battle
during the American Civil War.
12 days later, President Abraham Lincoln signed the legislation creating the first Medal of Honor.
Next year, on July 12, 1862, Lincoln signed new legislation creating the Army's Medal of Honor.
The Air Force would establish their own distinct version over 100 years later, in 1965.
These are the values represented by these three variations of the Medal of Honor.
Steeped with detailed and thoughtful symbolism, the Medal has become a historic symbol of our nation's bravest.
Out of respect for those who have earned it, its appearance has remained largely unaltered in over 150 years.
Before we share these four stories of bravery, let's talk about the symbolism of medal design.
The Navy and Marine Corps' Medal of Honor is our country's oldest continuously awarded decoration
and its design is rooted in the Civil War.
The outer design includes an inverted, 5-pointed star
with a cluster of laurel leaves for victory, mixed with oak for strength.
The design is encircled by 34 stars, representing the states of the Union at the outbreak of the Civil War.
The central motif is an allegory in which the goddess Minerva uses the shield of the Republic
to put down the figure of Discord, which is plainly a reference to the unfolding split in our nation.
Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, is on the right
The owl perched on her helmet represents wisdom.
In the Roman tradition, her left hand holds rods and an ax blade, symbolic of authority.
In her right hand is the shield of the Union of states.
A man clutching snakes in his hands, representing Discord, recoils from Minerva.
This medal is awarded to Navy, Marine and Coast Guard members.
The Army Medal of Honor has some designs borrowed from the Navy medal
along with its own take on symbolism.
The most updated design has a wreath of laurel leaves, a symbol of victory,
surrounding the original 5- pointed star.
A simple profile of Minerva, Roman goddess of Wisdom and War, rests in the center of the medal.
Above the “Valor” banner is perched the Eagle, the traditional symbol of the United States.
This Medal of Honor is awarded to Army soldiers.
The Air Medal of Honor has some designs borrowed from the Navy and Army medals along with its own symbolism.
The Statue of Liberty is centered, surrounded by the 34 stars representing the number of stars on the US Flag
in 1862 during the War between the States.
Above Lady Liberty is Jupiter's thunderbolt, borrowed from the Air Force Coat of Arms.
This Medal of Honor is awarded to Air Force and Space Force members.
Today, all Medals of Honor hang from a light blue ribbon, a color of valor,
with 13 stars representing our nation's 13 original colonies.
Young William “Willie” Johnston was a Medal of Honor recipient during the Civil War.
He was a drummer boy in Company D of the 3rd Vermont Infantry.
When his division was routed during the Seven Days Battles of June to July 1862,
he was the only drummer who had brought his instrument off the battlefield.
His superiors considered this a meritorious feat because the regiment's other soldiers
had tossed away their guns and equipment to lighten their loads during their retreat. Why was his action so important?
Because drummer boys played a pivotal role during battle.
In the noise and confusion of combat, it was often impossible to hear the officers' orders,
so each order was given a series of drumbeats to represent it.
Both soldiers and drummers had to learn which drumroll meant “meet here” and which meant “retreat”.
The most exciting drum call was “the long roll,” which was the signal to attack.
At age 13, William “Willie” Johnston, the drummer boy in the Vermont Infantry,
remains the youngest recipient of the Medal of Honor.
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was an Army surgeon, a Prisoner of War, and a spy --
and out of the 3,535 Medal of Honor recipients, she is the only woman to receive one!
When the Civil War broke out in 1861 Dr. Mary Walker wanted to join the US Army as a surgeon
but was rejected because she was a woman.
So she volunteered for the Union Army as a civilian, becoming the first female surgeon in Army history.
By September 1863, she continually crossed Confederate lines to treat civilians.
During this assignment it is generally accepted that she also served as a spy.
She was taken prisoner in 1864 and imprisoned in Richmond for four months
until she was exchanged for Confederate prisoners.
After the war, Dr. Walker sought some sort of military recognition to validate her service and her sacrifices.
However, due to the laws at the time, women were not allowed to receive any form of military commission.
Instead, President Andrew Johnson awarded her a Medal of Honor in November 1865.
Walker was awarded the Medal of Honor even though she was a civilian
who had never been a commissioned officer in military service.
But her story does not end here.
When standards for the Medal of Honor were revised in 1917, Walker's medal was one of 900 rescinded!
The new standards specified "direct combat with an enemy" as the guiding benchmark for the nation's highest award.
Walker's valiant Civil War service as an Army surgeon and her four months as a Confederate prisoner of war did not qualify.
But her story gets better!
Dr Walker refused to return her hard-earned honor!
When federal marshals arrived to take Walker's Medal of Honor in 1917,
she met them at the door wearing it around her neck and brandishing a 12-gauge shotgun.
Evidently the weapon spoke volumes, because Walker kept her medal, wearing it every day until her death in 1919.
In 1977, fifty-eight years after her death, an Army board reinstated Walker's medal, citing her
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr, son of a US President earned the Medal of Honor during the Normandy invasion.
As Brigadier General and assistant division commander of the 4th Infantry Division, he led the first wave of troops
ashore at Utah Beach during the Normandy landings in June 1944.
Fifty seven year old Roosevelt would be the only general to land by sea with the first wave of troops on D-Day.
General Roosevelt was soon informed that the landing craft had drifted more than a mile south of their objective,
and the first wave was a mile off course.
Walking with the aid of a cane and carrying a pistol, he personally made a reconnaissance of the area,
then returned to the point of landing and coordinated the attack on the enemy positions confronting them.
General Roosevelt's famous words were repeated by Henry Fonda in the D-Day movie “The Longest Day.”
"We starting the war from right here!"
His valor, courage, and presence in the very front of the attack and his complete unconcern
at being under heavy fire inspired the troops to heights of enthusiasm and self- sacrifice.
He thus contributed substantially to the successful establishment of the beachhead in France.
The following month, General Roosevelt died in France of a massive heart attack.
At the time of his death, he had been recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross
to recognize his heroism at Normandy. The recommendation was subsequently upgraded,
and General Roosevelt was a posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor.
Dakota Louis Meyer is a retired United States Marine, a veteran of the War in Afghanistan,
and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Ganjgal.
On September 8, 2009, near the village of Ganjgal, Corporal Meyer learned that three Marines and a Navy Corpsman,
who were members of Meyer's squad and his friends, were missing after being ambushed by a group of insurgents.
Hearing over the radio that four U.S. team members were cut off, Corporal Meyer seized the initiative.
What Meyer did next will live on in Marine Corps history
and earned him the Medal of Honor.
He told Staff Sergeant Juan Rodriguez-Chavez they were going in.
Juan jumped into a Humvee and took the wheel; Dakota climbed into the turret and manned the gun.
They were defying orders, but they were doing what they thought was right.
So they drove straight into the killing zone, with Dakota's upper body and head exposed to a blizzard of fire
from AK-47s and machine guns, from mortars and rocket- propelled grenades.
Coming upon wounded Afghan soldiers, Dakota jumped out and loaded each of the wounded into the Humvee,
each time exposing himself to all that enemy fire.
By the fourth trip, Dakota was now wounded in the arm. Their vehicle was riddled with bullets and shrapnel.
Still under heavy enemy fire, he left the vehicle on the fifth trip and moved on foot to locate his team members.
Corporal Meyer eventually found the four missing servicemen dead and stripped of their weapons, body armor and radios.
Rather than give up, Marine Meyer risked his life to bring the bodies of his buddies back home.
Bleeding from his shrapnel wound and still under fire, he carried their bodies back to a Humvee with the help of Afghan troops,
and escorted them to nearby Forward Operating Base.
Retired Sergeant Dakota Meyer learned that he was receiving the Medal of Honor with a phone call from the White House.
He shared his story with David Letterman.
I get a call on a Friday and I'm on the lake. I was wake boarding.
And they said that the President will call you at 11:50 on Monday.
So now you need to have, you need to be on a landline and be there an hour prior. You know how the Marine Corps is.
And I said, well, there is no way that is going to happen because I have to work.
So I said we'll have to get him to call my cellphone and I will try to arrange my lunch break around that.
Because of your Honor, 36 men are alive today. Because of your Courage, four fallen American heroes came home.
In the words of James Layton's mom, they could lay their sons to rest with dignity.
Many states have markers, statues and monuments honoring their particular Medal of Honor recipients.
Here at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus Georgia is the Hall of Valor
which honors the American Infantrymen who have received the Medal of Honor.
To experience the history of all Medals of Honor recipients, you should visit the Medal of Honor Museum
located on board this World War II aircraft carrier, known fondly as the “Fighting Lady.”
This is the USS Yorktown, located here at Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Charleston, SC.
The Medal of Honor Museum pays special tribute to American heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice,
ranging from the very first Medal of Honor recipients during the Civil War
all the way to the War On Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.
There are new plans to honor our heroes.
A new National Medal of Honor Museum is planned in Arlington, Texas.
It is scheduled to open in 2024.
And a new National Medal of Honor Monument is planned in our nation's capital.
It will be a key part of the D.C. landscape.
March 25th was established as National Medal of Honor Day.
Each year on this day, Medal of Honor recipients lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.
The “unknowns” buried here are each Medal of Honor recipients.
Since 1861, the meaning behind the Medal has never tarnished.
Etched within are the very values that each recipient displayed in the moments that mattered
bravery, courage, sacrifice, integrity, a deep love of country and a desire to always do what is right.
If history can be taught with stories
they can never be forgotten.
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