MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C.–The Congressional Medal of Honor Society (“the Society”) honored Dr. Aaron Epstein of Buffalo, New York; Michael Ahern of Plainville, Connecticut; and Tunnel to Towers Foundation of Staten Island, New York, as part of its annual Citizen Honors Awards on July 20, 2022, in Charleston, South Carolina. Members of the Society, comprised of the 66 living Medal of Honor Recipients, personally presented the awards to the honorees. 

Epstein, Ahern and Tunnel to Towers were selected following a national search for individuals and an organization whose service or act of heroism greatly distinguished themselves.  

• Epstein was honored with the 2022 Citizen Honors Award for Service for his commitment to providing medical relief to communities in conflict zones, austere environments, and disaster areas around the world. He founded the Global Surgical Medical Support Group (GSMSG) in 2015 to provide high quality care to victims in Iraq. 
   
• Ahern was honored as the 2022 Citizen Honors Award for Youth Service for founding Scoops for Troops, a fundraising endeavor centered around ice cream, that focused on sending wounded veterans and their families to a week-long retreat hosted by the Travis Mills Foundation

• Tunnel to Towers was honored with the 2022 Citizen Honors Community Service Award for its work honoring the sacrifice of firefighter Stephen Siller of New York City Fire Department Squad Company 1 who lost his life saving others on September 11, 2001. Tunnel to Towers builds mortgage-free smart homes for critically injured veterans and first responders. The homes are designed to address the unique needs of each individual and help them reclaim their day-to-day independence. 

Why Medal of Honor Recipients Honor Others
The tradition of Medal of Honor Recipients honoring other U.S. citizens began 15 years ago, and the Citizen Honors program continues to support the mission of the Society to promote the principles behind the Medal of Honor and to show that they are relevant to all Americans.   

The tradition is in keeping with the preference of Medal of Honor Recipients to shine a light on others rather than themselves as they believe that the Medals of Honor they were awarded should be seen more broadly as a symbol of the sacrifices and service of others. It is this perspective that led the Society to establish the Citizen Honors Awards.   

Society President and Medal of Honor Recipient Leroy Petry underscored this view saying, “You don’t have to wear a uniform to believe in the values that we associate with the Medal of Honor–courage, sacrifice, integrity, commitment, patriotism, and citizenship.” 

About the Citizen Honors Awards
Other Citizen Honors Award categories are for valor, and they will be presented at an awards ceremony in Knoxville, Tennessee, in September. They are:   

SINGLE ACT OF HEROISM AWARD  

Recognizes Americans who accomplish extraordinary feats of heroism by risking their lives for the benefit of others in a dire situation.  

YOUNG HERO AWARD  

Recognizes young Americans aged 17 or younger for their courage in a dire situation.  

 Last year, honorees were selected for saving lives, creating initiatives to help others in need, supporting veterans and more.  Past honorees are featured on the Society’s website here with profile videos of their service or act of valor. Nominations for the 2023 Citizen Honors are open.   

 About the Congressional Medal of Honor Society 
The Congressional Medal of Honor Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Medal of Honor and its Recipients, inspiring Americans, and supporting the Recipients as they connect with communities across the country. Chartered by Congress in 1958, its membership consists exclusively of those individuals who have received the Medal of Honor. There are 66 living Recipients.   

The Society carries out its mission through outreach, education and preservation programs, including the Medal of Honor Museum, Outreach Programs, the Character Development Program, and the Citizen Honors Awards for Valor and Service. The Society’s programs and operations are funded by donations. 

As part of Public Law 106-83, the Medal of the Honor Memorial Act, the Medal of Honor Museum, which is co-located with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s headquarters on board the U.S.S. Yorktown at Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, was designated as one of three national Medal of Honor sites.  

Learn more about the Medal of Honor and the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s initiatives at cmohs.org.