Medal of Honor : Profiles of America's Military Heroes from the Civil War to the Present

by Mikaelian, Allen; Wallace, Mike

• ISBN13: 9780786866625
• ISBN10: 0786866624
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-05-15
• Publisher: Hyperion

Summary

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 1,300 have earned the Medal of Honor, and many of those were awarded it for actions they did not survive. 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?

Author Biography

Allen Mikaelian received his M.A. in history, with distinction, from the University of London's Institute for English Studies. He lives in Washington, D.C., and serves as a board member and adult literacy tutor with the Washington Literacy Council Mike Wallace is a leading force behind CBS's 60 Minutes, which has ranked among Nielsen's top ten highest-rated primetime programs for twenty-three consecutive seasons--a record no other program has approached. He has won nineteen Emmy awards and countless other professional honors. He lives in New York City

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. ix
The Story of the Medal of Honor	p. xvii
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, Civil War	p. 1
Leopold Karpeles, Civil War	p. 19
A Nation of Immigrants	p. 41
Edouard Victor Michel Izac, World War I	p. 45
Samuel Woodfill, World War I	p. 75
Return to Isolationism	p. 106
David M. Shoup, World War II	p. 109
Maynard H. Smith: World War II	p. 135
Vernon Baker, World War II	p. 162
Uneasy Peace	p. 189
Hiroshi "Hershey" Miyamura, Korean War	p. 193
William Charette, Korean War	p. 219
From the Forgotten War To the Living-Room War	p. 238
Dwight Johnson, Vietnam War	p. 241
Thomas Kelley, Vietnam War	p. 256
Afterword	p. 273
Notes	p. 281
Acknowledgments	p. 299
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