By Laura Jowdy, Senior Director of Archives, Collections & Museum, CMOHS
On August 14, 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Congressional Charter for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Though the Society’s mission and scope has expanded, the Charter is still the guiding light. The Society is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Medal of Honor, inspiring America to live the values the Medal represents, and supporting Recipients of the Medal as they connect with communities across America.
Today, the Society helps the Medal of Honor Recipients continue their service to the country by connecting with their communities, veterans, and youth. In order to continue their legacy, the Society embraces the values inherent in the Medal: courage, commitment, integrity, sacrifice, citizenship, and patriotism. By serving, remembering, supporting, and honoring the sacrifice of the Recipients, by sharing the stories and values inherent in them, we understand the responsibility and potential within each one of us to inspire the world.
The Society’s programs include:
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The road to where we are today began in 1886, when the United States War Department published the first official list, or roster, of those who had been presented the Medal of Honor up to that point. Four years later, the Medal of Honor Legion was organized in Washington, DC, at a Grand Army of the Republic reunion.
A private organization, Legion membership could only be obtained by application, part of which required an individual be listed on the official War Department roster. The group provided socialization and aid to Medal of Honor Recipients. It cost $2.00 to join with an additional $1.00 annual dues, and national conventions were held every year. Areas with large number of Recipients, like Philadelphia, PA; New York City, NY; and Washington, DC, all had local arms of the Legion and held their own meetings.
A second group called the Military Order of the Medal of Honor splintered from the Legion in 1910 over the decision to lobby the Congress for a Medal of Honor pension. This group limited its membership to those who received the Medal of Honor in combat– no peacetime Recipients were admitted.
In 1918, the Legion expanded its membership to Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross and Navy Cross in 1918 and renamed itself the Army and Navy Legion of Valor of the United States. Eventually, the Military Order of the Medal of Honor was folded into the Legion of Valor in 1925, partially a result of the declining population of living Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients, who were the largest portion of their membership.
Following World War II, the number of living Medal of Honor Recipients increased dramatically. This group, like their predecessors, felt a need for an organization consisting of only Medal of Honor Recipients. As a result, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society of the United States, Inc., was incorporated in New York State in 1947.
Ten years later the organization was dissolved in favor of a Charter from the Congress, which was signed the next year by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on August 14, 1958 (Public Law 85-642). The Charter entrusted the new organization with forming a bond between Medal of Honor Recipients; protecting and upholding the dignity and honor of the Medal; protecting the name of the medal and Recipients; providing aid to all Recipients and their widows; serving the country in peace as in war; inspiring and stimulating youth the become worth citizens; and fostering and perpetuating Americanism.
Each year, the Medal of Honor Recipients get together for a convention to spread the Medal of Honor’s message of patriotism, courage, and sacrifice. Modern conventions feature several events engaging the local community, such as meet-and-greets and visits to veteran and community centers and schools.
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The Congressional Medal of Honor Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Medal of Honor, inspiring America to live the values the Medal represents, and supporting Recipients of the Medal as they connect with communities across America.
Chartered by Congress in 1958, its membership consists exclusively of those individuals who have received the Medal of Honor. There are fewer than 70 living Recipients.
The Society carries out its mission through outreach, education and preservation programs, including the Medal of Honor Museum, Medal of Honor Outreach Programs, the Medal of Honor Character Development Program, and the Medal of Honor Citizen Honors Awards for Valor and Service. The Society’s programs and operations are funded by donations.
