National Medal of Honor Day

Today the news was mostly full of anger & hate, vitriol and venom, and finger-pointing from both sides of the political aisle in regards to this fiasco in Washington that's been foisted upon the American people by this administration.

Largely unnoticed and not spoken of is the fact that today is National Medal of Honor Day, honoring those who have received this nation's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor.

There are only 91 living recipients of this medal, of the 851 medals awarded since Pearl Harbor.

Of those 851, 523 were awarded posthumously.

237 of those remaining recipients died after receiving their medals.

The average age of the living recipients is 74.4 years.

Of 464 awarded for service in WW2, only 20 are alive.
Of 132 in Korea, 13 remain.
Of 246 in Vietnam, 58 are living.
Both recipients from Somalia were killed in action and received their medals posthumously.
Likewise, all six of the recipients from the current Global War on Terror were awarded posthumously.

Of the living recipients, 62 were Army. 9 were Navy. 5 were Air Force. 15 were Marines.

God bless you all.

Note, readers, that I call them recipients, not winners. Most people awarded this medal died in the action that merited the award. It's not a prize; not something you win. It's not some cheap trinket. It's not something that any sane, rational, mature person wants to receive. It's something to be taken very seriously.

The recipients are often quiet people. They are humble about their actions, and many were even reluctant to even accept it, simply saying they were doing their duty. Many accepted their award and said they were doing so on behalf of those who didn't survive, who didn't make it, who couldn't receive an award, who couldn't go home.

Regardless of your politics, regardless of Left vs. Right, regardless of your faith, take a minute to be thankful for these brave people who went in harm's way so that you would be free to enjoy all that this country has to offer.