They’re Either In Very Bad Shape… Or They’re Dead
It’s a simple mistake.
So common, even the 45th president of the United States made it as recently as August 15 when he referred to “the Congressional Medal of Honor.”
The original honor, as signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on December 21, 1861, was “to be bestowed upon such [Navy] petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other seaman-like qualities during the present war.”
A second congressional resolution (“Act of Congress”) was signed into law on July 12, 1862 and provided for awarding a medal of honor “to such [Army] non-commissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other soldier-like qualities during the present insurrection.”
Legislation expanding eligibility for Army officers was passed on March 3, 1863 and nominations for the Army Medal of Honor opened to all soldiers “as have distinguished or who may hereafter distinguish themselves in action.” The first six Medals of Honor were presented by then Secretary of War Edwin Stanton to six U.S. Army volunteers on March 25.
World War II Memorial, Washington, D.C.
Today, there are three versions of the Medal of Honor: the Department of the Army; the Department of the Navy, including the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard; and the Department of the Air Force, including Air and Space Force. The Etruscan/Roman goddess Minerva appears on the Army and Navy variants; in the Roman pantheon she was the goddess of the professions, the arts, and, later, war and is commonly identified with the Greek goddess Athena.
By legislation, recommendations must be made within three years of the act(s) of valor and approval within five years through the chain of command of the service member. Outside the statute of limitations, a member of Congress may refer a candidate to a military service; these proposals require a special Act of Congress. The Medal is presented by the president on behalf of, and in the name of the Congress of the United States. Since 1941, more than half of the Medals of Honor have been awarded posthumously – a fact overlooked or unknown by the former president in his August 15 comments.
As last amended on January 1, 2021, federal legislation provides that:
"The President may award, and present in the name of Congress, a medal of honor of appropriate design, with ribbons and appurtenances, to a person who while a member of the [Army] [naval service] [Air Force] [Coast Guard], distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty."
Among the recipients of the Medal of Honor were:
Canadian-born – to an American father and British mother, Coast Guardsman Douglas Albert Munro, who was assigned to the Naval Operating Base Cactus at Lunga Point during the Guadalcanal Campaign of World War II. At the Second Battle of Matanikauin, September 1942, he led the extrication of a force of the 1st Battalion/7th Marines whose position had been overrun by Japanese forces. The 22-year-old was killed by gunfire will using a Higgins (landing craft) to shield another Higgins filled with Marines and stuck on a reef. His last words after being hit by Japanese gunfire were, “Did they get off?” Told the Marines had been safely evacuated, he smile, then died.
Coast Guard Signalman First Class Douglas Munro
Army Sgt. William H. Carney was honored for protecting one of the greatest symbols of the United States – the American flag. Born into slavery in Norfolk, Virginia in 1840, when his family was granted freedom and moved to Massachusetts, he secretly pursued an education – despite laws that banned Blacks from learning to read and write - and planned to pursue a career in religion. Carney joined the Union Army and was attached to Company C, 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry Regiment – the first official Black unit of the Union. On July 18, 1863, Carney’s regiment led the charge on Fort Wagner, on Morris Island in the Charleston, South Carolina Harbor. When the unit’s color guard was shot, Carney, just a few feet away, saw the dying man stumble and snatched the falling flag. Carney maintained the flag upright as he crawled up the hill to the walls of Fort Wagner, urging his compatriots to follow him. He planted the flag in the sand at the base of the fort and held it upright until his near-lifeless body was rescued. Witnesses testified that he refused to relinquish his flag until, with assistance, he made it to the Union’s temporary barracks. He never allowed the flag to touch the ground.
William H Carney with the flag of the 54th Massachusetts
Army Staff Sergeant Laszlo Rabel was born in Budapest in 1938 and escaped Hungary after participating in the failed 1965 revolt against Soviet-backed Hungarian Communist forces, settling in Minnesota before enlisting in the Army in 1966 at age 27. On November 13,1968, while serving as leader of Team Delta, 74th Infantry Detachment, 173 Airborne Brigade, Staff Sergeant Rabel and a comrade were preparing to clear an area in Binh Dinh Province, Republic of Vietnam when he heard an incoming grenade land in the midst of his team’s perimeter. Staff Sergeant Rabel threw himself on the grenade and covered it with his body, receiving the complete impact of the immediate explosion.
Staff Sgt. Laszlo Rabel
Born in Nava, Coahuila, Mexico, Marine Corps Sergeant Cesar B. Ruiz and his family immigrated to the United States when he was seven years old. After high school, during which he participated in the Air Force Junior ROTC, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and served as a combat engineer from 2003 to 2007, including a deployment to Afghanistan from 2004 to 2005. The new father of one-year-old Joshua returned to the Marines in 2008, saying he felt a strong sense of duty to his adopted country. As a platoon sergeant leading 16 Marines and one Navy corpsman, on October 31, 2009, his team approached what appeared to be a possible enemy observation point. Entering first, Sgt. Ruiz stepped on a pressure plate, triggering an IED blast that fatally wounded him. He was 26 years old and planning to begin his application for U.S. citizenship once he returned from Afghanistan. Instead, his wife completed the process, and he was posthumously granted citizenship on August 17, 2011.
U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Cesar B Ruiz
Marine Corps Sgt. Cesar Ruiz and son Joshua
In 2021, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services observed National Medal of Honor Day (March 25) by noting, “Since the first Medals of Honor were presented during the Civil War, more than 700 recipients of the award have been immigrants who distinguished themselves by their gallantry during military action.”
On November 16, 2018, Donald J. Trump presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom “to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to American life and culture…seven extraordinary Americans: Senator Orrin Hatch; the late, great Justice Antonin Scalia; Miriam Adelson; Roger Staubach; Alan Page; and two more recipients who are no longer with us, but whose legacies will live on forever—legendary Babe Ruth, legendary Elvis Presley. True legend.”
The Presidential Medal of Freedom was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and is awarded at the sole discretion of the president.
An Authenticated U.S. Government Information [Government Publishing Office] transcript of the president’s remarks in presenting the award to Miriam Adelson, indicates the president said:
Our next Medal of Freedom recipient is a renowned philanthropist, somebody who has worked so hard. Doesn't have to do it, but she does. Twenty-four hours a day, this is what she does. Miriam Adelson.
A medical doctor, Miriam has dedicated her life to fighting addiction, something we're all becoming all too familiar with. Through decades of innovative research, philanthropy, and treatment, Miriam has helped thousands break free from their addiction to drugs and to alcohol.
In 2006, Miriam and her husband Sheldon, who is with us today—thank you, Sheldon— established the Adelson Medical Research Foundation to prevent, reduce, or eliminate lifethreatening diseases.
To protect the sacred heritage of the Jewish faith, Miriam and Sheldon have supported Jewish schools, Holocaust Memorial organizations, and helped Jewish Americans visit the Holy Land. Miriam, I want to thank you very much for saving so many lives and helping so many people to get back to a normal way of life. You've been incredible. I know the work you've done. And you have been truly incredible…
And they [Sheldon and Dr. Adelson] were very happy to see the Embassy move to Jerusalem. They were very happy about that. So congratulations on that also. They fought very hard for that, capital of Israel.
Battle of Guadalcanal Memorial
Adelson and her late husband gave over $218 million to Republican and conservative causes in the 2020 U.S. election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political spending. On August 16, 2024, CNBC reported:
“The Preserve America super PAC, which Adelson is helping fund, plans to spend more than the over $100 million they put up against President Joe Biden during the 2020 election, said David Carney, who is a senior advisor to the committee, in a statement to CNBC. Adelson has already given $5 million to the PAC, according to Federal Election Commission records.
“The super PAC can spend and raise an unlimited amount of money opposing Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.”
On August 15, 2024, during an event on fighting antisemitism at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf course, Mr. Trump again saluted Dr. Adelson:
“I watched Sheldon sitting so proud in the White House when we gave Miriam the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That’s the highest award you can get as a civilian. It’s the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor, but civilian version.
"It's actually much better because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they're soldiers. They're either in very bad shape because they've been hit so many times by bullets or they are dead. She gets it and she's a healthy, beautiful woman. And they're rated equal, but she got the Presidential Medal of Freedom."
The following day, Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander Al Lipphardt issued a statement. [We present the complete statement because – in its full form – it has not received much coverage.]
“On Thursday, former President Donald Trump spoke at an event where he made some flippant remarks about the Medal of Honor and the heroes who have received it. In the video that has circulated online and in the media, the former president was recognizing Miriam Adelson in the audience who he awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom during his time in office. As he described the medal as the civilian version of the Medal of Honor, he went on to opine that the Medal of Freedom was ‘much better’ than the military’s top award, because those awarded the latter are, in his words, ‘… either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they’re dead.’ He continued by comparing Miriam to MoH recipients saying, ‘She gets it and she’s a healthy beautiful woman. They are rated equal.’
“These asinine comments not only diminish the significance of our nation’s highest award for valor, but also crassly characterizes the sacrifices of those who have risked their lives above and beyond the call of duty.
“When a candidate to serve as our military’s commander-in-chief so brazenly dismisses the valor and reverence symbolized by the Medal of Honor and those who have earned it, I must question whether they would discharge their responsibilities to our men and women in uniform with the seriousness and discernment necessary for such a powerful position. It is even more disappointing when these comments come from a man who already served in this noble office and should frankly already know better.
“While the Presidential Medal of Freedom may be our nation’s highest civilian award, the Medal of Honor is more sacred as it represents the gallantry and intrepidity of courageous and selfless service members, often at the cost of grievous wounds and even their lives. It’s because of our Medal of Honor recipients that great Americans like Miriam Adelson have the freedom to live to their fullest potential and make such lasting contributions to our great nation.
“We would like to remind Mr. Trump that the 12 times he had the honor of awarding the Medal of Honor as president of the United States, those were heroes not of his own choosing. He bestowed those medals on behalf of Congress, representing all Americans of a grateful nation. We hold the donation of their lives in service to our country in the highest esteem, and so should he.”
Two days after the Bedminster statement, the former president told Pennsylvania’s WTFW television news, "The Presidential Medal of Freedom, to my knowledge, I don't think anybody suffered….”