The Editors of Boston Publishing Company - The Medal of Honor: A History of Service Above and Beyond

Hal Fritz and Leo Thorsness are both Medal of Honor recipients.

W HY UPDATE A HISTORY of the Medal of Honor? Since this book was first published in 1985, more than ninety more medals have been awardedsome for actions taken since 1985 and some given retroactively as new information about past actions became available (for example, awarding the Medal to African American and Asian-American servicemen of World Wars I and II whose heroism was not sufficiently honored at the time).

Leo Thorsness, Immediate Past President of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society

Another reason is that changing times gives new perspective on such human qualities as sacrifice, honor, and service. Our war, Vietnam, was controversial. By the end of that war, the military stood discredited in the eyes of some Americans. Since those days, American men and women, all volunteers, have built a military for a different age. Today it is by far the most trusted and respected national institution. Its highest honor deserves a complete history.

The objective of this book is not to glorify war but to recognize, and demonstrate, that for all its destructiveness and inhumanity, war often brings out the best in people. Probably if heroes did not appear, mankind would have had to invent them, because history, made up as it is of so much trumpery, treachery, and tyranny, needs deeds of valor, of sacrifice, and of heroism if it is to be palatable.

Hal Fritz, President of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society

Americas history is well stocked with heroes. The most elevated of them are the menand one womanwho have been awarded the Medal of Honor for displaying courage and sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty. Beginning with the Civil War, when the medal was created to help raise morale in the Union forces, it has been the supreme accolade the United States bestows on its military for combat valor. More than one American president has said he would have preferred it to his high office.

When the first edition, titled Above and Beyond, was published in 1985, there were 254 living medal recipients; as of press time there are fewer than eighty. As Medal of Honor recipients, we strive to provide a continuing legacy that will be visible to Americans long after were gone off the face of the earth. We want to remind Americans that the freedom we have is based on the sacrifice and service of many men and women in the past and in the present.

That is one more reason the book is so important. Even though we as Medal of Honor recipients were recognized for our valor on the battlefield, there were many others who in fact were doing deeds of valor equal to ours, but were not recognized because the deeds were not seen by others and recorded for history. Or they didnt survive. They are commemorated on memorials we see throughout the countrynames of men and women who died in the service of this country. They died because they thought freedom was worth that price to protect.

May all who read this book honor their selflessness and sacrifice.

T HE WRITTEN HISTORIES OF AMERICAN WARS are too numerous to count, and many include the deeds of valor that have been recognized with the awarding of the Medal of Honor. But this is the only history of the medal itselfhow it began as an inspiration for Union soldiers in the Civil War, how it changed over a century and a half, and why it was awarded. The Medal of Honor has been conferred on individuals in times of formal conflict; during undeclared, unconventional wars from the Indian Campaigns to Afghanistan; and even awarded (rarely) for peacetime accomplishments. The Medal of Honors story is a unique perspective on American history and individual heroism.