Veterans & Military

The Medal of Honor

The United States' highest award for military valor in action: how it is awarded, and how many have been given since the Civil War.

Medals awarded3,555Since the Civil War
Recipients3,53619 received it twice
Living recipients65As of November 8, 2026

What the Medal is

The Medal of Honor is the highest U.S. award for valor in action against an enemy force. It is awarded in the name of Congress by the President of the United States, and recipients are asked to be called "recipients" rather than "winners." The modern name is simply "Medal of Honor"; "Congressional" is often added by mistake because Congress created the Medal, although it is purely a military award.

How it is awarded

The current criteria date from 1963. The Medal is authorized for a service member who "distinguishes himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty" while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States, in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force, or while serving with friendly foreign forces in an armed conflict against an opposing force in which the United States is not a belligerent.

  • A recommendation needs a thorough report of the act, the battlefield and its setting, at least two sworn eyewitness statements, and any other compelling evidence.
  • The packet must be approved up through the whole chain of command and end with the President as Commander-in-Chief.
  • By federal statute, the recommendation must be submitted within 3 years of the act and the Medal presented within 5 years. Any later award needs an Act of Congress to waive the limits.

Presentations are always made publicly, with formal ceremony, a practice that dates to a 1905 executive order of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Paraphrased from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society's pages on the Medal and its FAQs.

By the numbers

Fact Figure
Medals of Honor awarded 3,555
Individual recipients 3,536
Living recipients 65
Two-time recipients 19
First recipient Jacob Parrott (U.S. Civil War)
Only woman recipient Mary E. Walker (U.S. Civil War)
Only Coast Guard recipient Douglas A. Munro (World War II)
Awards rescinded in the 1916 review 911 (6 later reinstated)

From the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, checked November 8, 2026. The living count changes whenever a recipient dies or a new Medal is presented; check the Society for the current figure.

Read about the recipients

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society keeps a searchable profile of every recipient. Official citations are published by the Army and the other services; this site does not reproduce them.

Search the recipients Statistics and FAQs

Latest news about the Medal of Honor ›

From the blog: history

What Caused the Civil War, Who Won It and Why, Answered From the RecordTwelve plain questions about the Civil War answered from the record, from the secession declarations to Appomattox, the dead and what Emancipation did.The Pilgrims Tried Common Property and Went Hungry Until Bradford Changed ItPlymouth's common storehouse bred shortage and resentment, Bradford's 1623 land assignment brought plenty, and skeptical historians get a fair hearing.A Thought Experiment Where Washington Needs a Permit to Cross the DelawareSatire: George Washington's Christmas 1776 crossing run through modern permitting, then the real crossing and why free people cannot wait for permission to act.How to Judge the Founders Fairly Without Excusing Slavery or Erasing ThemMany Founders held slaves and also wrote the principles that ended slavery; a numbered argument for holding both truths and answering the charge of hypocrisy.

Sources: Congressional Medal of Honor Society: Statistics & FAQs, Congressional Medal of Honor Society: The Medal, Congressional Medal of Honor Society: Recipients. Updated November 8, 2026.