The Medal of Honor: The Evolution of America's Highest Military Decoration

by Dwight S. Mears

Overview

The Medal of Honor may be America’s highest military decoration, but all Medals of Honor are not created equal. The medal has in fact consisted of several distinct decorations at various times and has involved a number of competing statutes and policies that rewarded different types of heroism. In this book, the first comprehensive look at the medal’s historical, legal, and policy underpinnings, Dwight S. Mears charts the complex evolution of these developments and differences over time.

The Medal of Honor has had different qualification thresholds at different times, and indeed three separate versions—one for the army and two for the navy—existed contemporaneously between World Wars I and II. Mears traces these versions back to the medal’s inception during the Civil War and continues through the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—along the way describing representative medal actions for all major conflicts and services as well as legislative and policy changes contemporary to each period. He gives particular attention to retroactive army awards for the Civil War; World War I legislation that modernized and expanded the army’s statutory award authorization; the navy’s grappling with both a combat and noncombat Medal of Honor through much of the twentieth century; the Vietnam-era act that ended noncombat awards and largely standardized the Medal of Honor among all services; and the perceived decline of Medals of Honor awarded in the ongoing Global War on Terror.

Mears also explores the tradition of awards via legislative bills of relief; extralegislative awards; administrative routes to awards through Boards of Correction of Military Records; restoration of awards previously revoked by the army in 1917; judicial review of military actions in federal court; and legislative actions intended to atone for historical discrimination against ethnic minorities. Unprecedented in scope and depth, his work is sure to be the definitive resource on America’s highest military honor.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780700626663
Publisher:	University Press of Kansas
Publication date:	08/22/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	328
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Dwight S. Mears holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, taught history at the US Military Academy from 2010—2014, and retired from the US Army as a major in 2014. He recently received his law degree from Lewis&Clark Law School.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Part One: Legal and Policy History
1. From the Revolution through the Civil War: Background and Inception
2. Filling the Army's Policy Vacuum: 1876-1897
3. The Spanish-American War, Veracruz, and Navy Officers: 1898-1915
4. The Purge of 1917: The army Rewrites Its Award History
5. World War I: The Birth of the Pyramid of Honor
6. The Interwar Period: A Bifurcated Medal of Honor and New Decorations
7. World War II: Growing Pains and the End of Noncombat Awards
8. The Korean and Vietnam Wars: New Combat Thresholds
9. Post-Vietnam: Modern Concern over the Decline in Award Frequency
Part Two: Exceptions to the Rule: Legislative Administrative, and Judicial Relief
10. Early bills of Relief and Extralegislative Awards
11. Modern Bills of Relief: 10 U.S.C. §1130
12. Administrative Remedies Boards for Correction
13. Administrative Restorations: Mary Walker and William Cody
14. Judicial Remedies: The Administrative Procedure Act
15. Correction of Discrimination or Impropriety
Conclusions
Appendix: Summary of Medal of Honor Legislation (Excluding Bills of Relief)
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Mears has produced a unique study of America’s highest military decoration that will appeal to every military historian."—Journal of Military History

"The most complete history of the Medal of Honor. An excellent book."—New York Military Affairs Symposium Review

"This is an outstanding book and a worthy addition to existing literature on the history and recipients of the Medal of Honor. Highly recommended."—Choice


"Impressively documented with primary source material, this book is a significant addition to the historiography of the Medal of Honor and how and to whom it has been awarded. The author helps the reader understand how the award nomination and selection process has changed over time and why some acts are recognized as worthy and why some others are not. Highly recommended."—James H. Willbanks, author of Abandoning Vietnam: How America Left and South Vietnam Lost Its War

"Dwight Mears’s strength is objectivity combined with solid scholarship. His treatment of the Medal of Honor involves not only stirring events but the often blatantly political process, affording military students a rare look at America’s most prestigious decoration."—Barrett Tillman, author of Enterprise: America’s Fightingest Ship and the Men Who Helped Win World War II

From the Publisher - EBOOK COMMENTARY

"If you are interested in a Medal of Honor book deeper than a series of citations, you will enjoy this outstanding text."—Army History

“Mears book constitutes a major advancement in academic understandings of the Medal of Honour and the US awards system generally. An interesting read and, in terms of an administrative history, is unlikely to be surpassed in the near future.”—War in History

"Readers will find revealing insights, will be able to place the array of American military awards in a greater context, and will likely never think of a Medal of Honor ceremony the same way again."—Journal of American History

"This is an outstanding book."—Above and Beyond, Medal of Honor Historical Society

"A book valuable to both military historians as well as legal scholars, The Medal of Honor is sure to be the foremost scholarly reference on the subject for many years to come."—On Point: The Journal of Army History

"An excellent resource for any scholar to research and understand America’s most revered honor that can be conveyed on its warriors and an in-depth study of how the decoration evolved over time."—Army Magazine

"Mears has produced a unique study of America’s highest military decoration that will appeal to every military historian."—Journal of Military History

"The most complete history of the Medal of Honor. An excellent book."—New York Military Affairs Symposium Review

"This is an outstanding book and a worthy addition to existing literature on the history and recipients of the Medal of Honor. Highly recommended."—Choice

“Impressively documented with primary source material, this book is a significant addition to the historiography of the Medal of Honor and how and to whom it has been awarded. The author helps the reader understand how the award nomination and selection process has changed over time and why some acts are recognized as worthy and why some others are not. Highly recommended.”—James H. Willbanks, author of Abandoning Vietnam: How America Left and South Vietnam Lost Its War

“Dwight Mears’s strength is objectivity combined with solid scholarship. His treatment of the Medal of Honor involves not only stirring events but the often blatantly political process, affording military students a rare look at America’s most prestigious decoration.”—Barrett Tillman, author of Enterprise: America’s Fightingest Ship and the Men Who Helped Win World War II

From the Publisher