Synopses & Reviews
"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, Navy, or Air Force
distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and
intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond
the call of duty." --The United States Congress
140 Years of American Courage
In 1863, President Lincoln first awarded the Congressional Medal of
Honor, which was created to boost morale among the Union
rank-and-file. In the decades that followed, the award evolved to
take on an almost sacred quality. Today, it remains the highest U.S.
military decoration. Of the millions of Americans who have gone into
combat in the past century, fewer than 1300 have earned the Medal
of Honor, and many of those for actions they did not survive. Now
comes a book that tells the history of the medal, and profiles in
depth individuals from each branch of the military who have received
it. Their courageous and selfless feats in battle are barely
conceivable. They plunged into heavy fire, ventured boldly behind
enemy lines, and threw themselves on live grenades. But who are
these people?
Medal of Honor portrays eleven recipients of the award, from the Civil
War through the Vietnam War, and examines what drove them to go
so far above and beyond the call of duty. They include Leopold
Karpeles, a Union color-bearer who earned his during the horrifically
chaotic Battle of the Wilderness; Vernon Baker, who single-handedly
destroyed three German machine-gun nests during a fierce World War
II engagement; and Thomas Kelley, who, during a river battle in
Vietnam, continued to protect a disabled troop transport even after
sustaining a severe head wound from the blast of an enemy rocket.
Among the other stories are an account of the life of the only woman
ever to receive the medal; of an officer who staged a daring escape
from a German POW camp in WWI; and of a soldier from the
legendary WWII Japanese-American 442nd, who went on to earn the
medal in the Korean War. The book tells not only of astonishing
military actions but also, significantly, of the recipients lives before
and after their wartime experiences.
In his moving Commentary, acclaimed "60 Minutes" reporter Mike
Wallace places these actions in historical context, and he relates his
own personal experiences in WWII and as a reporter covering recent
wars. He also meditates on the meaning of courage and shows what
we can all learn from these extraordinary individuals.
Synopsis
The acclaimed reporter from "60 Minutes" profiles recipients of the prestigious Congressional Medal of Honor. Wallace tells the stories behind the recipients--their backgrounds, their heroic actions, and their lives after service. Abridged.
Synopsis
The Congressional Medal of Honor is Americas highest military award. In this remarkable work, the first of its kind, acclaimed 60 Minutes reporter Mike Wallace looks at the lives of the recipients of the medal and explores what it is that drove them to go so far above and beyond the call of duty. Wallace examines not only their extraordinary feats in battle (plunging into heavy fire, throwing themselves on live grenades, attacking enemy regiments single-handed), but also their lives before and after. Throughout the book, and particularly in his moving introduction, he meditates on the meaning of courage and shows what we can learn from the lives of those who perform amazing acts of selflessness and bravery.