HONOR: Sam Sylvester, local businessman and veteran, asked if we could share this with the community. It’s our honor to do so.
“On this Veteran’s Day and everyday, let us remember those who have served our nation. Of the more than 50 million who have worn the uniform since the Civil War, only 3,500 have been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Of those, nine have been chaplains — special envoys of faith. Carrying no weapons, they bring peace, comfort and blessings to those in harm’s way.
Civil War
Capt. John Milton Whitehead, USA
Capt. Francis Bloodgood Hall, USA Capt Milton Lorenzo Haney, USA
Lt. James Hill, USA
World War II
Lt.Cdr. Joseph Timothy O’Callahan, USN
Korean War
*Capt. Emil J. Kapaun, USA
Vietnam War
Capt. Angelo J. Litkey, USA
*Maj. Charles Joseph Watters, USA
*Lt. Vincent Michael Capadanno, USN
*Posthumously
______________
MEDALS: Nearly 3,500 men and women have earned the honor of wearing the United States Military’s highest medal for valor — the Medal of Honor.
The first military action to earn a Medal of Honor was on Feb. 13, 1861, by Bernard J.D. Irwin, who voluntarily led troops to rescue 60 soldiers in Apache Pass, Arizona. However, the Medal of Honor had yet to be proposed, and Irwon wouldn’t actually be presented with his Medal until Jan. 24, 1894, over 30 years after the deed itself, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
Pennsylvania’s veterans have earned 378 of those medals, second only to New York state for the most awards. Pennsylvania also boasts one of only a few people to receive two Medals of Honor for two different conflicts: Smedley Darlington Butler — The Maverick Marine.
