BOOTS ON THE
GROUND
Former US President Harry S Truman
said he would rather have the Medal
of Honor than be president of the
United States. No wonder. The Medal
of Honor (MOH) is the most prestigious
and highest ranked US military award
bestowed for bravery on the battlefield.
It is also the hardest to earn. There have
been only 3,525 MOHs awarded since
its establishment. Sadly, 624 of them
have been awarded posthumously. The
number of awards pales in comparison to
the plethora of stories that compose the
medal’s glorious history.
The Medal of Honor dates to 1861. The
Army and Navy needed a medal for bravery
for US Warfighters during the American
Civil War. Traditionally, awards for
battlefield bravery had never been a priority
for the either service. The few available
prior to the Civil War were temporary in
nature and not always associated with
honor or bravery.
RECENTLY AWARDED MEDAL OF
HONOR RECIPIENTS FOR THE ARMY
US Army Photo by Sergeant Kevin Roy.
President Donald J Trump presents the Medal
of Honor to US Army Master Sergeant Matthew
O Williams during a ceremony at the White
House in Washington, DC, 30 October 2019.
Photo Credit: Sergeant Keisha Brown.
SERGEANT
MATTHEW O. WILLIAMS
UNITED STATES ARMY
Sergeant Matthew O. Williams
distinguished himself by acts of gallantry
and intrepidity above and beyond the
call of duty on 6 April 2008, while serving
as a Weapons Sergeant, Special Forces
Operational Detachment Alpha 3336,
Special Operations Task Force-33, in
support of OPERATION ENDURING
FREEDOM. Sergeant Williams was
part of an assault element
I WILL ALWAYS PLACE
THE MISSION FIRST
I WILL NEVER
ACCEPT DEFEAT
I WILL NEAVER QUIT
I WILL NEVER LEAVE
A FALLEN COMRADE
MEDAL OF HONOR
MEDAL OF HONOR
86 ARMY 245: Call to Duty