The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians, and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor.

[24] In 1861, early in the American Civil War, a proposal for a battlefield decoration for valor was submitted to Lieutenant General Winfield Scott, the Commanding General of the United States Army, by Lieutenant Colonel Edward D. Townsend, an assistant adjutant at the Department of War and Scott's chief of staff.

[25] After Scott retired in October 1861, however, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles adopted the idea of a decoration to recognize and honor distinguished naval service.

[35] This measure provided for awarding a medal of honor "to such non-commissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other soldier-like qualities during the present insurrection.

"[35] By mid-November the Department of War contracted with Philadelphia silversmith William Wilson and Son, who had been responsible for the Navy's design, to prepare 2,000 medals for the Army ($2.00 each) to be struck at the mint.

Each medal is constructed differently, and the components are made from gilding metals and red brass alloys with some gold plating, enamel, and bronze pieces.

The star is suspended from a bar inscribed with the word VALOR above an adaptation of Jupiter's thunderbolt from the Department of the Air Force's seal.

This was an attempt to circumvent the requirement enacted in 1919 that recipients participate "in action involving actual conflict with the enemy," which would have foreclosed non-combat awards.

[58] By treating the 1919 Medal of Honor as a separate award from its Civil War counterpart, this allowed the Department of the Navy to claim that it was not literally in violation of the 1919 law.

[60] The so-called Tiffany Cross was to be presented to a sailor or marine who "in action involving actual conflict with the enemy, distinguish[es] himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.

"[61] Despite the "actual conflict" guidelines, the Tiffany Cross was awarded to Navy CDR (later RADM) Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett for their flight to the North Pole in 1926.

The decision was controversial within the Navy's Bureau of Navigation (which handled personnel administration), and officials considered asking the attorney general of the United States for an advisory opinion on the matter.

[62] Byrd himself apparently disliked the Tiffany Cross, and eventually requested the alternate version of the medal from President Herbert Hoover in 1930.

[63] The Tiffany Cross itself was not popular among recipients—one author reflected that it was "the most short-lived, legally contentious, and unpopular version of the Medal of Honor in American history.

"[60] In 1942, in response to a lawsuit, the Department of the Navy requested an amendment to expressly allow noncombat awards of the Medal of Honor.

"[33][53][69][70] The service ribbon is light blue with five white stars in the form of an "M."[53] It is placed first in the top position in the order of precedence and is worn for situations other than full-dress military uniform.

[78] In July 2014, DoD instructions were changed to read, "A separate MOH is presented to an individual for each succeeding act that justified award," removing the authorization for the "V" device.

[80][81] The flag was based on a concept by retired U.S. Army Special Forces First Sergeant Bill Kendall of Jefferson, Iowa,[82] who in 2001, designed a flag to honor Medal of Honor recipient Army Air Forces Captain Darrell Lindsey, a B-26 pilot from Jefferson who was killed in action during World War II.

Kendall's design of a light blue field emblazoned with 13 white five-pointed stars was nearly identical to that of Sarah LeClerc's of the Institute of Heraldry.

President George W. Bush presented the Medal of Honor and Flag to the family of Smith during the award ceremony for him in the White House on April 4, 2005.

[86] The second method, which normally applies outside of the statute of limitations, is when a recommendation is referred to a military service by a member of the U.S. Congress, generally at the request of a constituent under 10 U.S.C. § 1130.

[91] The four specific statutory sections authorizing the medal, as last amended on January 1, 2021, are as follows:[107] The President may award, and present in the name of Congress, a medal of honor of appropriate design, with ribbons and appurtenances, to a person who while a member of the [Army] [naval service] [Air Force] [Coast Guard], distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.

Although some sources claim that President Jimmy Carter formally restored her medal posthumously in 1977,[179] this action was actually taken unilaterally by the Army's Board for Correction of Military Records.

[197] Five "double recipients" were awarded both the Army's and Navy's Medal of Honor for the same action, with all five of these occurrences taking place during World War I.

After an exhaustive review, the study recommended that ten Distinguished Service Cross recipients be awarded the Medal of Honor.

On January 13, 1997, President Bill Clinton presented the Medal of Honor to seven of these World War II veterans, six of them posthumously and one to former Second Lieutenant Vernon Baker.

[211] Twenty of the resulting medals went to U.S. soldiers of Japanese descent of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (442nd RCT) who served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II.

The board was to report on any Medals of Honor awarded or issued "for any cause other than distinguished conduct by an officer or enlisted man in action involving actual conflict with an enemy.

[222][223] Walker's medal was restored by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in 1977, an action that is often attributed to President Jimmy Carter in error.

[226] The following decorations, in one degree or another, bear similar names to the Medal of Honor, but are entirely separate awards with different criteria for issuance: