The Medal of Honor

From the September 22nd Chicago Tribune.

The Tribune had a Medal of Honor graphic to go along with the story on Richard Etchberger.

It was introduced in 1861, during the Civil War, to recognize acts of bravery by Union troops. Since then, it has been awarded 3,400 times.

MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS BY WAR

With years of involvement and number of troops involved.

CIVIL WAR-- (1861-1865) Union troops only 1,522 out of 2.2 million

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR-- (1898) 110 out of 307.000

WORLD WAR I-- (1917-1918) 124 out of 4.7 million

WORLD WAR II-- (1941-1945) 464 out of 16.1 million

KOREAN WAR-- (1950-1953) 133 out of 5.7 million

VIETNAM WAR-- (1964-1973) 245 out of 8.7 million

IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN-- (2001-present) 8* out of about 2 million

*Medals for two recipients have been announced but not awarded yet.

After looking at the criteria and write ups for Civil War soldiers as compared to what verification has to be done today, there is a huge difference. During the Civil War, a commander's recommendation was all that was needed. Today, a lot more information is needed.

An Award of Great Honor. --Cooter