Medal of Honor

caveplay · #1 16th October 2007

Today the collegian ( penn state news paper )
had a peice about Michael Muphy U.S. NAVY and
Medal of Honor recipient

I sent the the writer Alyssa Owens a email
she called it the congressional medal of honor

83XLX · #2 16th October 2007

That's what it is commonly called.

http://www.cmohs.org/medal.htm

donniej · #3 16th October 2007

I've always heard it reffered to that as well. I believe because it is awarded via an act of Congress.

PS. I've also heard that the recipient, as part of the award, is entitled to ~$50,000 per year for life, tax free. I have nothing to back that up though, just hearsay.

747 FlightEngineer · #4 16th October 2007

I have also heard it called CMOH and just MOH but in the end it only goes to real American Heroes.

sfxtech · #5 17th October 2007

I just watched a thing on History Channel about Pearl Harbor. They interviewed John Finn he is the only living survivor of Pearl Harbor that received the Medal of Honor. He said in the special, he doesn't think of himself as a hero, he still wears it to this day, not to show it off, but to honor all the soldiers that did not survive. And that survivors got purple hearts, MOH, and all sorts of other awards, and "the only thing the others got, was dead."

edit: Link to show on History Channel

dagsportster · #6 17th October 2007

Historically, there are separate Medals of Honor (Army, Navy, Air Force) with the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard sharing the same design. Now they're collectively referred to as just the Congressional Medal of Honor, but depending on branch, the design of the medal may be different.

The medal is for the bravest of the brave and no matter what you call it, I'm humbled by the sacrifice made by those so honored.

chieftd · #7 19th October 2007

The current VA monthly stipend for MOH receipients is $1104 per month. It also increases with yearly cost of living increases. So for 2008 it will go up 2.3%. Regards, chieftd

http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Rates/special1.htm

donniej · #8 19th October 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by chieftd

The current VA monthly stipend for MOH receipients is $1104 per month. It also increases with yearly cost of living increases. So for 2008 it will go up 2.3%. Regards, chieftd

http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Rates/special1.htm

Thank you for the link. I was always curious as to what cash award the recipient got...

klinesamuel · #9 19th October 2007

In 1991 I was stationed at Fort Hood, TX. They were celebrating the 50th anniversary of WWII and I believe it was for the 2nd Armored Division. Anyway, they invited back anyone who served with the division which of course included the Medal of Honor recipients.
There must have been dozens of these old timers walking around with there medal proudly hanging around their neck.
My most vivid memory of this was watching the post commander LT General Graves calling everyone to attention when one of these heroes passed us on the street. He turned and gave the finest salute I ever saw coming from his hand. I worked for the guy and that was the only time I ever seen anyone outrank him so, that's why I remember that so well.
Thanks for the memories,
Sam

LDO · #10 19th October 2007

Actually,
Although commonplace, the term "Congressional Medal of Honor" is not correct. It is sometimes referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor because the President presents the award "in the name of the Congress."

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society is so named because that is the name it was given in an act of Congress signed into law by President Eisenhower on August 5, 1958.

Here's a good link on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal_of_Honor

S/F!