Cordes was first awarded the medal in 1923 after coming across a Manhattan cigar store robbery in progress.
As a result of his involvement, Cordes suffered five gunshot wounds, three of which came from another policeman for unknown reasons.
[1] His second Medal of Honor was awarded in 1927 for his work in solving the kidnapping of real estate tycoon Abraham Scharlin.
[citation needed] Part of his career is described in the book "NYPD: Stories of Survival from the World's Toughest Beat".
This United States biographical article related to crime is a stub.