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

by Allen Mikaelian, Mike Wallace (Introduction)

The Congressional Medal of Honor is Americas highest military award. In this remarkable work, the first of its kind, acclaimed 60 Minutes reporter Mike Wallace looks at the lives of the recipients of the medal and explores what it is that drove them to go so far above and beyond the call of duty. Wallace examines not only their extraordinary feats in battle (plunging into heavy fire, throwing themselves on live grenades, attacking enemy regiments single-handed), but also their lives before and after. Throughout the book, and particularly in his moving introduction, he meditates on the meaning of courage and shows what we can learn from the lives of those who perform amazing acts of selflessness and bravery.

Genres: Nonfiction, Military Fiction, History, Military History, Biography, War, American History

300 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2002

Reviews

[Tung · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Medal of Honor (often mistakenly called the Congressional Medal of Honor) is the nation’s highest and most prestigious military award. Of the millions of men and women who have served our country since the Civil War (the time period during which the award traces its origin), only approx. 3500 have been awarded the Medal of Honor, many of them posthumously. This book – written primarily by Mikaelian with only a preface, afterward, and several brief thoughts penned by journalist Mike Wallace – attempts to present a fuller picture of what the people are like who are awarded such an honor by profiling eleven recipients. Each profile details the recipient’s life before their military service, the event during their service that earned them the award, and their life after having received the award. Therein lies my one criticism of the book: Mikaelian’s choices of stories was clearly based on the uniqueness of the recipient’s life rather than because the stories of the recipient’s courage made for engrossing reading (although be clear, I am not criticizing nor speaking against the courage or self-sacrifice of the eleven recipients profiled, all of whom are heroes). For example, among the profiled recipients are: a recipient who later became a US congressman, a recipient who later became a vocal critic of the Vietnam War, and a recipient who later made headlines for participating in a hoax where he pretended to save someone’s life so that he could attract attention before a possible gubernatorial run. So rather than focus on the heroic acts that earned them their awards, Mikaelian focuses more on their unique lives around their heroism – to the point that I feel the heroic acts are downplayed and almost papered over. I understand that he’s trying to tell a life story rather than a story of heroism, but if like me, you opened the book anticipating the latter rather than the former, the stories seem much more dull than you imagined they would be. Mikaelian’s prose is also rather disjointed as he weaves the life stories around the heroism, and in many spots the profile reads like a high school history report where events are recited dryly one after the other without much connection. Tolerable read, but I was expecting far more from stories about our nation’s greatest heroes.

[Scott Schmidt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a dry read for me. Just the way it was written was a rather dull read.

[David Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here we have the stories of eleven Medal of Honor recipients. These are not solely the stories of combat and bravery, but the stories of the people. How did these people arrive in the situation that resulted in their medals? What happened afterward? The eleven mini-biographies present the widest possible cross-section of medal recipients possible - Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam - and includes the one woman recipient.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not know much of the history behind the creation of this medal and found most of the stories interesting, even the background of the wars themselves and seeing through the eyes of each person who earned their medal, how warfare changed - as did our attitudes towards such warfare.

[Jim Mullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories of the individuals who were awarded the MOH are fascinating. I was a bit surprised & disappointed that the MOH was not so special or rare until much later in the 20th Century. Good read just the same. Interesting, amazing stories.

[Jessica Howe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful as to what soldiers go through.

[Rafeeq O. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Allen Mikaelian's 2002 Medal of Honor: Profiles of America's Military Heroes from the Civil War to the Present Day, with commentary by Mike Wallace, interestingly and movingly tells the stories of 11 of the recipients of America's highest military honor, from the Civil War through Vietnam.

Although today we regard the Medal of Honor in some awe, and rightly so, because of the staggering feats of selflessness and bravery which it honors, Mikaelian reminds us that when it first was awarded during the Civil War, it "wasn't just the highest honor a soldier or sailor could receive, [sic] it was practically the only one" (2002 Hyperion paperback, page xvii). As "the only recognition available," for decades it "was used to recognize both the great and the good" (page xx), but in 1890 with the Medal of Honor legion was founded, with the group's "Medal of Honor holders lin[ed] up to defend the award against abuse," and "the meaning of the medal evolved quickly" (pages xx-xi).

After an interesting discussion of these changes, the book then begins its stories of, in the words of the subtitle, America's military heroes. The first tale, actually, is that of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, a very unconventional female doctor whose bravery and determination in the Civil War cannot be questioned, although the rewriting of the medal's rules later would render her, a civilian, no longer eligible for it. After covering another Civil War veteran, this one an actual soldier, the text tells the stories of nine more recipients of the high honor: two of the First World War, three of the Second World War, two from Korea, and two from Vietnam.

The account of each veteran--all of whom survived their action, by the way, though posthumous awardees also are mentioned throughout--is both interesting and awe-inspiring. To point again to the book's subtitle, though, I should mention that these stories indeed are "profiles." That is, although all chapters naturally cover the recipients' combat actions thoroughly, they do not focus solely there. Instead they range over the given person's entire life; some chapters start with the particular incident in war, then move back to detail the person's childhood, and finish with either their death or their then-present situation, while others use varied organization.

Each of the eleven chapters is very good, giving a full and compelling picture of a person who, often, was uncomfortable about being defined solely by the events of a single day, portentous though it was. Moreover, after the two Civil War profiles, each section of chapters grouped by their particular wars is headed by a useful contextualizing essay by journalist Mike Wallace, who also wrote the book's introduction, along with the Afterword. The Notes section at the end then provides other books and articles for further reading on each Medal of Honor recipient covered.

As Mike Wallace reminds us not jingoistically but solemnly, in an Afterword written in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11th, 2001, "there are bound to be future battlefields on which Americans will fight and die, and in a few rare instances, act with such extraordinary bravery that they will receive the ultimate award--the Medal of Honor" (page 279). Allen Mikaelian's Medal of Honor: Profiles of America's Military Heroes from the Civil War the the Present, with commentary by Mike Wallace, ably discusses a selection of these future heroes' forebears in an engaging and moving 5-star read.

[John Nevola · Rating 4 out of 5]

One can hardly be critical of a book that chronicles the lives and deeds of 11 Medal of Honor winners, one being the only woman to receive the Medal. While most Medals of Honor are awarded posthumously, Mikaelian selected those who survived the action for which they earned the award. He then surrounds the feat-of-arms with descriptions of their lives both before and after.

While most of this background is interesting, I suspect most people who might buy this book are looking for the accounts of bravery that earned these Medals. While you get some of that, it's only for a handful of the thousands of Medals awarded.

This book would have been better received and more highly rated for what it tried to do but for the Introduction and especially the Afterword written by Mike Wallace.

If I wanted his version of the pros and cons of the Vietnam War, I would have looked it up on the Internet. His justification and confession as an avowed anti-war "dove" not only compromised his objectivity as a Journalist but insult the sensibilities of those who disagree with both his analysis and his opportunistic effort to introduce his beliefs into a book of this kind.

It might be argued that being the second person to be awarded the Tex McCrary Award in 1998, by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society (given to those who distinguish themselves by unbiased coverage of the United States military), that he is qualified to comment on the award and some of its recipients. That may be true but it does not qualify him as an expert in foreign policy nor speak to his inappropriate insertion of his personal politics into this book.

[Ensiform · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several Medal of Honor recipients are profiled here, from the highly controversial woman non-combatant winner, Mary Walker, during the Civil War, to two Vietnam War heroes who were affected by their experiences in very different ways. There’s a little bit of background on the history of the medal itself, but mostly this is a book about the men (and one woman) who showed incredible valor in the face of great danger. It’s a very affecting look at military experience --- not a homogeneous thing at all, but perhaps unified by this, a common call for unexpected, immediate and astonishing bravery. The black and Nisei soldiers have, for obvious reasons, the most moving stories.

[Israel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book at the Goodwill as a way to do some research for a manuscript I'm writing. I'm also a big fan of listening of the experiences that merit the highest military honor in the US. That's what I was hoping to get from this book but the book failed to deliver the gut punch I wanted. Is that weird? I don't think so...

Chapters cover specific MOH stories but in those chapters the book profiles other MOH stories and that was a bit confusing. Maybe the author should've just chosen the conflicts and wrote wide ranging chapters that intended to profile the different soldiers. Overall it was a decent, quick, and in spots inspiring read.

[Mromigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The wonderful thing about this book is that it focuses not just on the amazing valor of these CMH recipients, but on their lives before and after the battle that earned them the distinction of our highest military honor. 60 Minutes' Mike Wallace gives an historical context which provides a nice background in which to set the stories of these heroes, from the Civil War up through Vietnam. A must-read for any military history buff or someone who needs a good inspirational read.

[Relstuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good background on the history of the highest award for valor in the United States military. Some great little known stories about some of the people who won them and what they did to earn them. None of these are of the most famous people you may have heard of before. There is some social commentary included but overall it's respectful though you should know the author admits to being a dove and against the Vietnam war. An topic he spends some time discussing.

[Jennifer Robb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the early section that talked about the history of the Medal of Honor (how it came to be, the changes that occurred in how it was awarded etc.) quite interesting. I also found the first profile, of a female physician during the Civil war, interesting. For each of the wars recounted, two to three Medal of Honor winners were profiled. The author attempted to find winners who weren't necessarily widely known and who had compelling stories.

[Ashley Brantley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It reminded us of times when people are so terrible to one another. But more than that it showed us that people are so beautiful and wonderful. Each story shows us time after time of our military going above and beyond the call of duty. It's also great to see that we as a people to sometimes go back in time and correct mistakes made.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each chapter in this book contains stories about individuals who received the Medal of Honor. I found these people's live absolutely intriguing.

[Jody · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will show you just how hard it is to receive the military's highest honor. It's sad that most people don't even receive the medal until after they are dead.

[T.R. Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome stories of self sacrifice, dedication, and honor.

[Linda Appelbaum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty dry account of many medal of honor winners...their stories of who they were before and after and how they won this great honor. One chapter per recipient covered in the book.

[Micah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a humanizing account of our countries heroes and the lives they led after their experiences after war. The account was on the cutting edge of exploring PTSD.

[Emma]

Tells the honest and true tales of heroes that have gone forgotten in time. It will always be my favorite book

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating. A great bit of history-makes me want to read more biographies of MOH recipients.

[Kimberlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best and easiest read of all of the Medal of Honor Books that I have ever read. It reads as good as a fiction novel.

[Timothy Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book of heroes & their stories.

[Jeff Beebe]

Heroism can be lonely.