History of The Award
Similar in name to the Medal of Freedom established by President Harry S. Truman in 1945 to honor civilian service during World War II, but much closer in meaning and precedence to the Medal for Merit: the Presidential Medal of Freedom is currently the supreme civilian decoration in precedence, whereas the Medal of Freedom was inferior in precedence to the Medal for Merit; the Medal of Freedom was awarded by any of three Cabinet secretaries, whereas the Medal for Merit was (and the PMOF is) awarded by the president. Another measure of the difference between these two similarly named but very distinct awards is their per-capita frequency of award: from 1946 to 1961 the average annual incidence of award of the Medal of Freedom was approximately 1 per every 86,500 adult U.S. citizens; from 1996 to 2011 the average annual incidence of award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom was approximately 1 per every 20,500,000 adult U.S. citizens (so on an annualized per capita basis,
President Kennedy established the current decoration in 1963 through Executive Order 11085, with unique and distinctive insignia (it was the first civilian neck-decoration and, in the grade of Awarded With Distinction, is the only U.S. sash and star decoration), vastly expanded purpose, and far higher prestige. The Executive Order calls for the medal to be awarded annually on or around July 4, and at other convenient times as chosen by the president, but it has not been awarded every year (e.g., 2010, 2001). Recipients are selected by the president, either on his own initiative or based on recommendations. The order establishing the medal also expanded the size and the responsibilities of the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board so it could serve as a major source of such recommendations.
The medal may be awarded to an individual more than once (John Kenneth Galbraith and Colin Powell each have received two awards; Ellsworth Bunker received both of his awards With Distinction), and may also be awarded posthumously (for example, Cesar Chavez, Paul "Bear" Bryant, Roberto Clemente, Jack Kemp, John F. Kennedy, Thurgood Marshall, and Lyndon Johnson).
Read more about this topic: Presidential Medal Of Freedom
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