Word Celebrity Blog

The American public should be grateful that uncommon valor has commonly appeared among the men and women in our armed forces. They have served their country beyond the ability of our small tributes to repay them. We must never forget those who have stood in harm’s way to defend liberty and to pay the continually rising price of freedom.

























The Medal of Honor is America's highest award for combat valor. Its stature is so high that President Harry S. Truman, a WWI veteran with a deep understanding of the horrors of combat and the need for extraordinary heroism to overcome them, once told a gathering of WWII recipients: "I'd rather have this medal than be president". General George S. Patton, an outstanding combat soldier who also had a clear grasp of combat bravery, told one recipient as he placed the coveted medal around the hero's neck: "I'd give my immortal soul for that medal".

Only an act of the most conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity, far above and beyond the call of duty, in the presence of an armed enemy merits the Medal of Honor. The deed must involve a clear risk of life. It must be that type of voluntary act which, if the hero did not do it, would not subject him to undue criticism. In addition, at least two eyewitnesses must attest to the deed. By adhering to these strict criteria the armed forces have reserved the Medal of Honor soley for the "bravest of the brave".

The Medal of Honor is an extremely hard medal to earn; more than half of the men who earned the Medal of Honor died in their achievement.

Since 1862, when it was first given to members of our armed forces for gallantry and bravery beyond the call of duty, it has been awarded only 3,445 times.

During the First World War, the President, acting on behalf of Congress, awarded the Medal to 124 servicemen. All of the World War I recipients are now gone.

Of the 13 million men who served our country during WWII, only 433 received the Medal of Honor. In other words, only 1 in every 30,000 servicemen received our nation's highest decoration for combat valor. Only 190 of those brave men survived to receive their medals, and only 32 remain of World War II’s recipients.


Here is a complete list of all the Medal of Honor recipients from Kentucky.
   
Medal of Honor

Civil War -- 1861-1865
Army Captain William P. Black
Army Private John C. Callahan
Army Sergeant John S. Darrough
Army Private John Davis
Army Drummer William H. Horsfall
Army Private Aaron Hudson
Army Private Henry B. Mattingly
Army Sergeant Francis M. McMillen
Navy Landsman Daniel Noble
Army Private Oliver P. Rood
Army Sergeant Andrew J. Smith
Army Private William Steinmetz
Army Doctor Mary E. Walker
Army Major John F. Weston
Army Colonel James A. Williamson


Indian Campaigns -- 1870-1891
Army Second Lieutenant Thomas Cruse
Army First Sergeant William L. Day
Army Corporal John J. Givens
Army Private William M. Harris
Army Captain John B. Kerr
Army Private Franklin M. McDonald
Army Private George D. Scott
Army Sergeant Thomas Shaw
Army Private Thomas W. Stivers
Army Private Thomas Sullivan
Army Saddler Otto E. Voit
Army Sergeant Brent Woods


Actions in Peacetime -- 1871-1910
Navy Seaman Edward W. Boers
Navy Watertender Edward A. Clary
Navy Quarter Gunner George Holt


Wars of American Expansion -- 1897-1902
Army Colonel J. Franklin Bell
Army First Lieutenant Benjamin F. Hardaway
Army Private James J. Nash


World War I -- 1917-1919
Army Sergeant Willie Sandlin


World War II -- 1941-1945
Marine Corps Corporal Richard E. Bush
Army Technical Sergeant Morris E. Crain
Marine Corps Private First Class Leonard F. Mason
Marine Corps Reserve Private First Class Wesley Phelps
Army Private Wilburn K. Ross
Marine Corps Private First Class Luther Skaggs Jr.
Army Staff Sergeant Junior J. Spurrier
Army Sergeant John C. Squires


Korean War -- 1950-1953
Marine Corps Captain William E. Barber
Marine Corps Private First Class William B. Baugh
Army Corporal John W. Collier
Army First Lieutenant Carl H. Dodd
Army Second Lieutenant Darwin K. Kyle
Army Private First Class David M. Smith
Army Private First Class Ernest E. West


Vietnam War -- 1961-1975
Army Sergeant Charles C. Fleek
Army Staff Sergeant Don Jenkins
Army Private First Class Billy L. Lauffer
Army Sergeant First Class Gary L. Littrell
Marine Corps Second Lieutenant John J. McGinty III
Army Private First Class David P. Nash
Marine Corps Lance Corporal Joe C. Paul