I read a story in Stars and Stripes recently about one of our honored dead who had received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in combat that led to his death. Apparantly, while tragic for his family, it was judged by those tasked with reviewing recommendations for valor awards to be very high on the scale of heroism as such things are measured. The DSC is no small award, as it is only exceeded in honor by the Medal of Honor itself. I can hardly read such stories without having to fight back tears. However, one part of the story got me a little peeved.
It seems that his mother found it disappointing that he was not approved for the Medal of Honor and had taken it upon herself to ask the Army to review the award decision and upgrade the award to the Medal of Honor and was making the case publicly to try to put pressure on the Army to do so. As with any endevour that is made by human beings, the review process for valor medals can be flawed. There are known cases of awards being upgraded later when reviews found that a higher award was justified and that bias, prejudice, or inaccurate information had been the cause of the downgrade or denial of the award. These cases are rare though. The process of review, especially for the highest of awards is as thorough and rigorous as any process can be. It often takes up to two years for a Medal of Honor recommendation to be vetted and approved. For valor medals, unlike my previous post on medal inflation for administrative medals, the military takes its responsibility very seriously.
For a history of the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross and other valor medals, including the honor roll of those who have receieved them with citations, please visit the Medal of Honor site and the Home of Heroes site. In brief, the history of these medals follows. These sites have more details. From the founding of the country, the military had disaproved of medals as being too European and aristocratic. Until the Civil War, there were no medals that were authorized to recognize valor and heroism. During the Civil War, the Medal of Honor was created, first for the Navy and then for the Army, and was restricted to the enlisted ranks only. Officer were expected at all times to behave valorously in combat and to provide extra recognition was thought unnecessary. Officers were eventually made eligible to receive it though.
In 1917, a review of the Medals of Honor showed that with only one medal available, there was no way to distinguish between various degrees of valor and the Medal of Honor was being devalued by awarding it for actions that, while heroic, did not meet the standard of above and beyond the call of duty and of conspicuous gallantry. To correct this error, Congress created a series of medals that permitted actions to be recognized without diminishing the honor of any award. The pyramid of honor was capped by the Medal of Honor, along with another short lived award called the Marine Corps Brevet Medal which was discontinued in favor of the Medal of Honor. At the next level was the Service Crosses, the Distinguished Service Cross for the Army, the Navy Cross, and later the Air Force Cross. Finally came the Distinguished Service Medals for each service and the Silver Star.
Each of these awards must be justified by actions of great and conspicuous valor, in combat against an enemy, which places one's life at risk. The standards are set by statute by Congress and are very specific in describing the degree of valor and heroism required. So high are the standards, that close to 8 out of every 10 Medals of Honor are awarded posthumously, and the larger fraction of those awarded to surviving heroes were awarded in the distant past. Almost no one, who merits the Medal of Honor, survives the action that earns it. A large fraction of the Service Crosses were also awarded posthumously, but death alone does not automatically equate to conspicuous gallantry or beyond the call of duty. Tragically, duty often requires death which disallows the very highest of military honors. In all of World War II, in which there were more than 400,000 dead, only 138 Medals of Honor were awarded, 27 were for actions during the battle for Iwo Jima. It is for this that it was said that "among the Americans who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor, was a common virtue." Twenty-seven awards from a single battle stood out.
Not even everyone in military service understands this, and this is readily apparant in the medal inflation of administrative awards. It would be a great tragedy and a disservice to all of our heroes, living and dead, to degrade the value and honor of any of our valor awards. The services take this responsibility seriously, and review each recommendation for its merits carefully. I think that when there is any doubt, the preferrence is to err on the side of a lower degree of honor in order to protect the distinction of the higher. An award can be upgraded if such is warranted, but how do you downgrade an award if that is also warranted? You cant, and therein lies the danger that the process guards against. If the honor of an award is at all diminished by giving honor where it is not due, the damage cannot be undone, and all awards, past and future, are diminshed by it.
If this soldier truly meritted the Medal of Honor, that honor will come to him, but his mother does his memory no service by trying to force that honor to come outside of the system set up to render that honor to him. It is no insult or shame to receive the Distinguished Service Cross. One of the greatest American soldiers of all, General George S Patton, Jr said of his Distinguished Service Cross, "I would rather be a Lieutenant with it, than a General without it." He held it in higher esteem than even the four stars of his rank which in war denoted the highest degree of trust in his judgement and leadership that the nation could bestow. I wish that she could understand that. Less than 14000 of the many millions of men who have served our nation in war have received this honor. No one who has ever worn the uniform would think poorly of him for not being one of the fewer then 3500 who have received the Medal of Honor. I never will.
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