List of Jewish Medal of Honor Recipients

List Of Jewish Medal Of Honor Recipients

The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. A recipient must distinguish themselves at the risk of their own life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy of the United States. The medal is presented to the recipient by the President of the United States on behalf of the Congress.

Since it was instituted there have been 3,473 recipients; at least 27 American Jews have received the Medal of Honor for their actions starting in the American Civil War through the Vietnam War. The first two recipients were Henry Heller and David Orbansky who both received it for their actions in 1863 during the American Civil War. Samuel Gross was the only Jewish American Marine to receive the medal for his actions in Fort Riviere, Haiti. The last to receive it was Tibor Rubin in 2005, who was believed to have been overlooked due to discrimination. His medal was for his actions the Korean War in 1950, 55 years before he received the medal.

Read more about List Of Jewish Medal Of Honor Recipients:  American Jews and The Medal of Honor, American Civil War, Indian Wars, Philippines, Battle of Peking, China (Boxer Rebellion), Haiti, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, See Also

Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, jewish, honor and/or recipients:

    “Every morning I woke in dread, waiting for the day nurse to go on her rounds and announce from the list of names in her hand whether or not I was for shock treatment, the new and fashionable means of quieting people and of making them realize that orders are to be obeyed and floors are to be polished without anyone protesting and faces are to be made to be fixed into smiles and weeping is a crime.”
    —Janet Frame (b. 1924)

    “I made a list of things I have
    to remember and a list
    of things I want to forget,
    but I see they are the same list.”
    —Linda Pastan (b. 1932)

    “I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish Church, by the Roman Church, by the Greek Church, by the Turkish Church, by the Protestant Church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.”
    —Thomas Paine (1737–1809)

    “Our young people have come to look upon war as a kind of beneficent deity, which not only adds to the national honor but uplifts a nation and develops patriotism and courage. That is all true. But it is only fair, too, to let them know that the garments of the deity are filthy and that some of her influences debase and befoul a people.”
    —Rebecca Harding Davis (1831–1910)

    “The proclamation and repetition of first principles is a constant feature of life in our democracy. Active adherence to these principles, however, has always been considered un-American. We recipients of the boon of liberty have always been ready, when faced with discomfort, to discard any and all first principles of liberty, and, further, to indict those who do not freely join with us in happily arrogating those principles.”
    —David Mamet (b. 1947)